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England teams heading Down Under for Touch World Cup prep
Some of England’s national teams are taking their Touch World Cup preparations up several notches over the next couple of weeks at the Queensland and New South Wales State Cups.
The Men’s Open and Women’s Open teams are already in Brisbane for their final training – including a match against Queensland University Rebels – before making the short journey to the Gold Coast for the three-day tournament between November 24th and 26th.
Both of England’s teams have been invited to join the Premier divisions, and while tournament rules mean they will not be able to accrue league points they will nevertheless get all of the experience of playing against some of the State’s top teams, as well as other international opposition in the form of Japan.
The Men’s Open will play Arana, Gold Coast, Japan, Redlands, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and University of Queensland Rebels.
The Women’s Open will play BMTA Mustangs, Brothers, Caboolture, Japan and University of Queensland Rebels.
The following weekend sees the Men’s Open and Women’s Open teams head to Port Macquarie, midway between Brisbane and Sydney on the Pacific Coast, where they will be joined by the Women’s 35s.
These tournaments represent the first time that England’s Men's and Women's Open teams have played in Australia since 2018, while for the Women's 35 this is their first State Cup campaign.
“Being invited to attend the Queensland and New South Wales State Cups is fantastic for us and the three teams who are in Australia will get a massive amount from the experience,” says England Touch’s High Performance Director, Ben Powell.
“Having so many of the players who represented England at the European Touch Championships follow that up by taking time off work and investing a lot of money to make the trip reflects the dedication to put themselves into a good position to compete at next summer’s World Cup.
“On behalf of everyone at England Touch I wish them all the best in the Gold Coast and Port Macquarie.”
CLICK HERE for more information about the Queensland State Cup
CLICK HERE for more information about the New South Wales State Cup
Teams
Men’s Open
Players: Dom Brook, Felix Ducourneau (Exeter University), Ed Haywood, Cole Graham (Raptors), Ben Grinter (NQ Rebels), Josh Henderson (Galaxy London), Tom Lawton-Davies (Exeter University), Will Lupton (Nottingham), Miles Partridge (London Eagles), Horatio Price (Raptors), Will Serocold (London Scorpions), Kamil Shahabdeen (Galaxy London), Charlie Thomson (London Scorpions), Louis Treays (Galaxy London), Dom Tripp (capt, London Scorpions), Will Tyrrell (Raptors), Ellis Watts (Cambridge), Jon Weston-Stanley (Galaxy London)
Staff: Tim Osborne (Head Coach), Jeff Bimson (Defence Coach), Martin Wright (Attack Coach), Mark Aldous (Asst Coach), Becca Hickman (Sports Psychologist), Alex Scott (Team Manager), Gareth Hinds (Referee)
Thanks to Autotech Group for supporting Ellis Watts’ State Cup campaign
Women’s Open
Players: Sophia Barkham (Raptors), Laura Cochrane (Hot Custard), Lauren Fagan, Naomi Fearnett (London Eagles), Emily Hacking (Raptors), Zan Hudson (London Scorpions), Emily Irons (London Scorpions), Sophia Jelfs (Raptors), Georgina McKavanagh (NQ Rebels), Grace Pyrgos (London Scorpions), Haniyyah Rahman-Shepherd (Hot Custard), Emily Rona-Roper (capt, Galaxy London), Emily Simon (Nottingham), Bronte Sykes (London Scorpions), Annelise Thurley (London Scorpions), Lydia Ticehurst (Galaxy London), Nikki Wise (NQ Rebels), Carly Wynne (NQ Rebels)
Staff: Adam Brimelow (Coach), Mekayla Storer (Team Manager)
Women’s 35
Players: Laura Anderson (Banbury), Claire Davis (Oxford), Emilie Eve (Cambridge), Vikki Franks (Cambridge), Sue-Ellen Godde (Cambridge), Natalie Grimsey (Horsham), Kylie Hutchison (London Scorpions), Olivia Jones (Revolution), Sonya Lam (Galaxy London), Lois Lau (London Eagles), Louise Rickard (Cambridge), Claire Rylance (Revolution), Hana Suzuki (Cambridge), Marnie Wills (Oxford), Mekayla Storer (travelling reserve)
Next summer sees England host the Touch World Cup for the first time. 2024 will be the tenth Touch World Cup, and early indications are that it will be considerably larger than the previous event in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in 2019.
The University of Nottingham’s Highfields Sports Complex will host teams from across the globe, entrenching the venue’s place as the home of international Touch in England, following the 2018 and 2022 European Touch Championships and 2023 Atlantic Youth Touch Cup.
Partnership opportunities are now available, both for the event as well as England’s national teams. Email Chris Simon via chris.simon@englandtouch.org.uk for more information.
