Staff WriterEngland Golf has named an eight-player team for its biennial match against France at Golf de Chantilly from 16-17 May, and on paper at least, it has the look of a side arriving with its collar up, shoes polished, and a faint glint in the eye.
This is not merely another fixture in the amateur golf calendar. England versus France has history, needle, rhythm and the occasional thump of national pride landing somewhere between the shoulder blades. England have won 26 of the 32 matches between the two sides, but after defeat at Moortown Golf Club in Yorkshire last time out, there is unfinished business in the bag.
A Proper Match With a Proper Edge
The format is deliciously simple and potentially brutal: four foursomes matches each morning, followed by eight afternoon singles matches. In other words, no hiding places, no gentle introductions, and no time for anyone to spend three holes “finding their rhythm” like a man searching for his reading glasses in a bunker.
England did win on French soil in 2022, claiming a 13.5-10.5 victory at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Breteche. That will offer some comfort. But comfort, in match play, is about as reliable as a downhill three-footer in a crosswind.
This year’s contest at Golf de Chantilly comes with extra intrigue. England Golf arrive buoyed by last month’s European Nations Cup success, where Eliot Baker, Ben Bolton and Tom Osborne all played their part in a resounding team victory. All three are back in the side, joined by Lewy Hayward, Max Hopkins, Luke Jenkins, Jake Sowden and Jamie Van Wyk.
Gorvett Wants England to Put Moortown Right
England will be captained by Ben Gorvett, with Rob Watts serving as Team Coach. Gorvett, England Golf’s Men’s Performance Manager, has made it clear that the memory of 2024 has not been tucked away in a drawer and forgotten.
“We had a great battle with France in the European Nations Cup recently and we look forward to continuing our form into this match. We are focused on righting the wrongs of 2024 at Moortown.”
That is not fighting talk with a megaphone. It is better than that. It is precise, measured and lightly sharpened.
Eliot Baker Brings the Firepower
Eliot Baker of Tiverton in Devon may only be 23, but his recent record reads like someone has been attacking the amateur game with a butter knife and a grudge.
He won the individual title at the 2026 European Nations Cup in Sotogrande with a tournament record of 15-under-par, closing with five birdies in his final five holes. That is less a finish and more a controlled detonation. His performance helped England win the team title by 14 shots.
Baker was also runner-up at the 2026 Spanish Amateur Championship, won the 2025 Portuguese Amateur Championship and the 2025 Scottish Men’s Open Championship, and has been central to a string of England team successes. He helped England win the 2025 Octagonal Match, the European Cup of Nations at Sotogrande, the biennial match against Spain, and the Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals.
Add in GB&I honours at the St Andrews Trophy and Walker Cup at Cypress Point, and England Golf have a player who looks increasingly comfortable when the room gets noisy.
Ben Bolton Looks Like the Future Arriving Early
Ben Bolton of Enville in Staffordshire is 18, though his golfing CV seems to have been assembled by someone twice his age with excellent filing habits.
He finished third individually at the 2026 European Nations Cup, helping England to that commanding 14-shot team win, and has already logged a top-10 finish at the Portuguese Amateur, tied-11th at the Sage Valley Invitational in the United States, and tied-third at the Lytham Trophy.
Bolton has also been part of winning England teams at the 2025 Octagonal Match, the match against Spain, and the Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals. His junior record is heavy with substance too: the 2024 Spanish Boys’ Amateur title, European Young Masters success, and strong performances in the US Boys’ Amateur Championship and Jacques Leglise Trophy.
If England need youthful nerve rather than youthful noise, Bolton fits the bill nicely.
Lewy Hayward Adds Proven Match Play Bite
Lewy Hayward of Marlborough in Wiltshire brings the useful quality of being hard to shift once he gets moving. The 20-year-old has already posted top-10 finishes at the 2026 Italian International Men’s Amateur and Lytham Trophy.
His 2025 season included victories at the Walton Heath Trophy and West of England Open Amateur Match Play, plus a runner-up finish at the Irish Men’s Amateur. He also helped England win the Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals.
Hayward’s record suggests a player who does not mind a scrap. In this fixture, that is not a bonus. It is part of the job description.
Max Hopkins Earns His First Full Cap
Max Hopkins of Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire receives his first full cap, and it is thoroughly earned rather than ceremonially handed over with a handshake and a nice biscuit.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a strong run, including a top-five finish at the 2026 Turkish Open Amateur, tied-second at the Selborne Salver, and top-15 finishes at both the Italian International Men’s Amateur and Lytham Trophy.
He was runner-up at the 2025 English Amateur Championship, tied-third at the French International Championship, and has collected top-five finishes at the Berkshire Trophy, Lytham Trophy and North of England Amateur.
For England Golf, Hopkins offers consistency, competitive mileage and the sort of calm that tends to matter when foursomes begins to resemble a domestic argument conducted with golf balls.
Luke Jenkins Makes His England Golf Debut
Luke Jenkins of Rochester & Cobham makes his England Golf debut, and the 20-year-old arrives with enough recent evidence to justify the selection.
He won the 2026 Berkhamsted Trophy and finished tied-sixth at the 2026 Lytham Trophy. Before that, he was inside the top five at the 2025 King Hamad Trophy in Qatar, a professional event, having also finished in the top 10 there in 2024.
Jenkins represented Kent at the 2025 Men’s County Finals, finished top-five at the Walton Heath Trophy, tied-third at the 2024 South East of England Links Championship and placed second at the 2024 Lagonda Trophy.
A debut in France is no small assignment. But Jenkins has the recent form and competitive sharpness to make it feel less like a baptism and more like an opening statement.
Tom Osborne Returns With Serious Momentum
Tom Osborne of Lindrick in Yorkshire is another important piece in this England Golf side. The 24-year-old won the 2026 Spanish Amateur Championship and also won all five of his matches for England at the 2026 Costa Ballena Octangular in Spain.
That matters. Stroke play tells you plenty, but match play reveals temperament. Five wins from five suggests Osborne does not merely understand the format. He rather enjoys making it uncomfortable for other people.
He helped England win the 2026 European Nations Cup by 14 shots and was part of the 2025 teams that won the Octagonal Match, European Cup of Nations, match against Spain and Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals.
With a 2025 Lytham Trophy runner-up finish, a top-10 at the 2026 event, and deep runs in the R&A Amateur Championship and English Amateur Championship, Osborne brings both form and experience.
Jake Sowden Offers International Steel
Jake Sowden of The Oaks in Yorkshire has been busy collecting results in the sort of places that harden a golfer’s competitive instincts.
The 22-year-old has recorded top-10 finishes at the 2026 Italian International Men’s Amateur and Avondale Amateur in Australia. He won the 2025 Berkshire Trophy, after finishing top-five there in 2024, and helped England win the 2025 Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals.
His Australian form is notable too, with third place at the South Australia Amateur Classic and tied-fourth at the Australian Men’s Amateur in 2025. He also won the 2024 English U25 Championship and 2024 Yorkshire Amateur Championship.
Sowden looks like the type of player who brings a little dirt under the fingernails. Very useful in team golf.
Jamie Van Wyk Completes a Deep England Line-Up
Jamie Van Wyk of Royal Lytham & St Anne’s gives England another player with international experience and a taste for demanding conditions.
The 25-year-old finished second at the 2026 Avondale Amateur in Australia and tied-third at the Australian Master of the Amateurs. He also won the 2025 Welsh Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship and helped England win the 2025 Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals.
Van Wyk’s record includes top-10 finishes at the NSW Amateur, Avondale Amateur and Concord Cup, all in Australia, along with five points from six while representing Lancashire at the 2025 Men’s County Finals.
For a match like this, reliability is gold dust. Van Wyk appears to have brought a small sack of it.
What This Means for England Golf
This England Golf team is not short on form, trophies or experience. Baker, Bolton and Osborne bring the fresh swagger of European Nations Cup success. Hopkins and Jenkins add new-cap intrigue. Hayward, Sowden and Van Wyk give the side grit, depth and proven match-play value.
France will not roll over, of course. They rarely do. The recent European Nations Cup battle showed there is little appetite on either side for polite surrender. But England arrive at Golf de Chantilly with a team that looks balanced, battle-tested and, crucially, motivated by the sting of last year’s defeat.
That combination can be dangerous.
And if England are to right those Moortown wrongs, they will need exactly what this line-up appears built to provide: sharp foursomes, ruthless singles, and just enough controlled menace to make France feel the collar tightening by Sunday afternoon.
