England record double gold at School Games

England Hockey sent U17 Boys and Girls teams to compete at the UK School Games National Finals event held at Loughborough University from 1-4 September.

The two teams were made up of players working toward selection for the 2022-23 England U18 programmes. The opposition teams were our Home Nations counterparts: Scotland, Ulster and Wales.

 The tournament was run on a round robin basis as part of the Youth Sports Trust’s fantastic multi-sport event.

 Results:

Scorers and further match information can be found here. 

With England and Ulster drawing in the Boys competition on day 1, the England v Wales fixture took on greater significance, with the winner of that game very much remaining in the mix as the matches entered into day 3 England secured the win against Wales and knew only a resounding victory against Scotland on day 3 would ensure they left with the gold medal. Scoring goals against “weaker“ opposition has been something that has haunted young England teams in recent years, including this summer, when goal difference meant the U18 Boys didn’t progress through to the semi-finals of their 8 Nations tournament. On this occasion the England boys maintained a level of discipline and intensity that provided the platform to score enough goals to take the first position away from a determined and skilful Ulster group.

Head Coach, Mark Bateman, said: “Bringing a group of boys to an event and asking them to play as a team without having played together previously is always a challenge. The boys responded brilliantly to that challenge, executing technically and developing tactically with each game, responding well to the individual and team questions that the management team set them. The gold medal is a fantastic outcome for the boys - I’m delighted for them!"

The Girls competition took a similar direction to that of the boys.

With Ulster and England both winning on day 1, day 2 presented an opportunity to create daylight between the two teams as they contested their second match of the tournament. The game was played at high intensity with England taking a deserved 2-0 lead into half-time. The Ulster girls pinned England back in the second half and fully deserved at least a draw from their efforts in the final two quarters. The games on Day 3 were going down to goal difference. Ulster faced a resolute Scottish defensive line whom they struggled to break down in the early parts of the game, while on the other pitch England looked relatively comfortable at 2-0. Things then got interesting as Ulster found their scoring boots to record four goals in the final 16 minutes. England had a nervous last couple of minutes as they waited for the Ulster match to finish. Once the hooter sounded, England were able to begin their celebrations, having taken the gold medal on goal difference.

Head Coach, Lisa Letchford, said: "I'm very happy to come away with the gold medal, despite having a young squad. For those who hadn't featured in the Summer 8 Nations tournament, it was a great environment for them to showcase what they have learnt and how they have progressed this past season. There were some fantastic individual and team performances."