Andy DevaneyEngland win Girls’ & Boys’ Home Internationals honours for the sixth successive year after beating Wales, Scotland and Ireland to preserve a perfect record in the combined championship.
The Boys won all three of their matches, while the Girls pushed their own individual contest to within half a match point of the title. Apparently, five consecutive victories had done little to blunt the appetite.
England opened with a convincing 13-8 success against Wales before Scotland made life considerably less comfortable, the defending champions eventually edging that contest 11.5-9.5. Ireland were then beaten 13-8 on the final day to complete another unbeaten week in the combined standings.
It was hardly a procession, but championship golf rarely bothers with those.
England Boys make it three wins from three
The Boys supplied the firmest foundation for England’s overall success, winning against Wales, Scotland and Ireland to take their individual title as well.
Their foursomes record was particularly impressive. Charlie Rusbridge and Cameron Mukherjee won all three matches as a pairing, a feat matched by Ben Sessions and George Cooper.
Rusbridge collected five points from six matches across the week, while Mukherjee went through the event unbeaten with 4.5 points from five.
Sessions also finished with five wins from six, with Aaron Moody contributing 4.5 points from his six matches.
It was the sort of depth captains tend to appreciate. One dangerous partnership can win you a session. Several of them can make opponents wonder where exactly they are supposed to find a weak spot.
England Girls’ & Boys’ Captain Jamie O’Connor said: “The coaches and staff are incredibly proud of the players this week. There were so many close and hard-fought contests but it was great to come out on top.
“It was a really successful week for the Boys, winning all three matches and winning the individual title – only dropping 1.5 points in the foursomes. The Girls narrowly lost out on the individual title but showed great fight in taking it all the way to the end, only losing out by half a point.
“A massive well done to all our players and everyone involved on a brilliant week and a great result – a specific thank you must be given to our national coaches, Steven Orr and John Watson.”
Girls push individual title to the final margin
England’s Girls had to settle for second place in their own standings despite avoiding defeat in all three matches.
They beat Wales and drew with both Scotland and Ireland, ultimately missing the individual title by just half a match point.
Summer Carash was unbeaten, earning 3.5 points from five matches, while Mia Ingham produced one of England’s strongest individual records of the week. She won every one of her singles contests and accumulated five points from six overall.
That slender final margin will sting, as slender margins generally do. It also underlines how little separated the sides after three days in which England never actually lost a match.
England Women take individual Home Internationals title
The senior England teams experienced a rather more complicated final day.
A combined 11.5-9.5 defeat against Ireland left England second overall in the Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals, but both the Women and Men still secured their respective individual titles.
England’s Women were emphatic throughout, beating Scotland 6-3 before overwhelming Wales 7.5-1.5. A 5.5-3.5 win against Ireland completed three victories from three.
Charlotte Naughton won all five of her matches, while Patience Rhodes amassed 5.5 points from six without defeat.
Sophia Fullbrook was also unbeaten, collecting five points from six, and Lauren Crump won five of her six matches.
Three team victories and several near-flawless individual records constitute a reasonably persuasive week’s work, whatever the combined table happened to say.
England Men edge title despite Ireland defeat
The Men opened by beating Scotland 7.5-4.5 and followed it with an 8.5-3.5 victory against Wales.
Ireland then turned the tables decisively with an 8-4 win on the final day, but England had already done enough across the three matches to edge the individual title on match points.
Ben Bolton won all three of his singles encounters, while Jenson Bull contributed four points from six and Max Hopkins finished with 4.5 from six.
The Ireland defeat prevented England from completing a clean sweep across every available competition, but it did little to disguise the broader picture.
Six years and still no change at the top
The headline achievement belongs to the Girls’ & Boys’ side.
Six editions of the combined Home Internationals have now been played and England have won all six. This latest title was built not on one exceptional performance but on strength across partnerships, singles matches and both teams.
The Boys were unbeaten and champions in their own right. The Girls were half a match point from joining them. At senior level, both England teams also secured their individual titles.
Golf enjoys reminding everyone that yesterday’s score buys very little credit on the next tee. England’s juniors appear to have misunderstood the arrangement.
Six tournaments. Six victories. Someone else will have to remove them eventually.
