After last year’s first ever defeat in the Home Nations Championship, England were in control from start to finish in Pontyclun, Wales, never really giving their rivals the slightest sniff of another upset.
The very first impressions of the venue were very positive, with a fantastic clubhouse and 16 pitches offering very differing surfaces.
The Welsh PA is rightly renowned for the warmth of its hospitality and from the outset – as the old Harry Secombe song about Wales goes – they kept ‘a welcome in the hillsides and a welcome in the Vales’.
The tournament software, expertly crafted as always by Stephen Snudden ensured that every team had to adjust the way they played as they were moved from pitch to pitch over the two days.
The tournament organisation team led by Welsh PA President Tony Smith was flawless from start to finish and local club members did a fantastic job making sure everything ran smoothly.
Saturday – Day 1
England got off to a flying start in the very first round of the day and the tournament with a 7-1 defeat of Scotland, while Wales showed that home advantage does count with a notable 5-3 win over holders Jersey.
England followed up with a 5-3 win over Wales and importantly a 6-2 victory against Jersey. Scotland had a tough morning, losing 2-6 to Jersey and then 1-7 to Wales.
Wales looked very happy with their start as they found themselves on a total of 15 wins at lunch, just 3 behind England. Jersey’s seven game deficit to England after just three rounds did not bode well for the defence of their title, while with just 4 wins on the board, Scotland were already up against it.
After a nice lunch laid on by the club, the cycle of games began again and England bossed Scotland a second time with a 6-2 victory while its was honours even at 4-4 between Wales and Jersey.
England then went on to chalk up a convincing 7-1 win over Wales and then a less convincing 5-3 against Jersey. Jersey’s day wasn’t made any better after being held 4-4 by Scotland. Wales ended a positive day’s boules with a very dominant 7-1 result against Scotland.
With half the tournament complete at the conclusion of Day 1, England with 36 wins had a solid 9 game margin over Wales in second place, who in turn had a satisfying lead of 5 games over Jersey. It was certainly not where Jersey wanted to be. For Scotland, this was a day to forget, with just 11 wins, although the draw against Jersey was a creditable performance.
Sunday – Day 2
Although England had established a clear lead, the message to the squad before play started from England Team Manager John Edmondson was that the job was far from finished and that the previous day’s momentum should be built upon.
England began well with a 6-2 result against Scotland and Jersey managed to reverse their defeat against Wales 24 hours earlier with a 5-3 win.
England then recorded their only draw of the weekend sharing the spoils 4-4 with Wales and then in the final round of the morning posted another 5-3 win over Jersey, who separately eased past Scotland 6-2 in the penultimate round of the morning. Scotland fared better against Wales, doubling the wins they had achieved the day before with a 4-4 draw.
That meant as the squads broke for lunch that England had 51 wins, extending their lead to a 13-win margin. At the same time, an improved Jersey narrowed their deficit with Wales to just 3, setting up what would prove to be a very close battle for second place in the concluding afternoon session of the tournament.
Scotland had improved on their Saturday morning performance, but the damage had been done leaving the squad 17 wins adrift in fourth place.
The same cycle of play then took place again after lunch as England were placed on the brink of victory and regaining the trophy. The second 7-1 win of the weekend over Scotland widened the gap further as Jersey repeated their 5-3 morning win against Wales.
That was a big result for Jersey as it left them tied with Wales on 41 wins each, and leaving a very tense battle for second place. With a 17-win margin in place, England had secured the trophy.
The penultimate round of the tournament proved to be very exciting in the race for second place. England dented Welsh hopes by winning 6-2 but an improving Scotland achieved their first round win of the weekend with a very good 5-3 victory over Jersey.
With Wales on 43 wins and Jersey on 44 wins, Wales looked in the better position at the start of the final round as the hosts faced Scotland and Jersey faced England.
With England giving another dominant display with a 6-2 against Jersey, it meant that Wales would grab the runners up spot if they could secure at least a draw with Scotland.
Unfortunately for Wales, the boost for Scotland in defeating Jersey in the previous round motivated their teams in the very last battles of the weekend on the pitch. Two heartbreaking 12-13 losses for Wales left the Scots with their very best round result of the weekend, a 6-2 win. Even if one of those 12-13 defeats had gone the other way, Wales would have secured that cherished second spot on points difference.
The very last game on the pitch of the tournament was one of those cliffhanger 12-13 results between Wales and Scotland, meaning the second place in the Home Nations was decided with pretty much the very last throw of the weekend!
Head to heads
It’s always illuminating to look at the head to heads to see what they reveal about the tournament. The wins were:
- England 26 Scotland 6
- England 22 Wales 10
- England 22 Jersey 10
- Wales 20 Scotland 12
- Wales 15 Jersey 17
- Jersey 19 Scotland 13
This underlines the dominant display of England overall and that the performances by Wales and Jersey against England were exactly the same. Jersey did have the edge over Wales, but then Wales were one game better over Scotland than Jersey.
The surprise was that very last round where up until that 2-6 reverse, Wales had won 18 games to Scotland’s 6. A 2-6 Welsh defeat was a complete turnaround from the previous three head to heads,
In many respects, it could be said that although Scotland were well behind overall, they had a crucial and final say about who would be runners up in the final two rounds.
Individual teams
Although the tournament is first and foremost a squad affair, the performances of individual teams are also recognised.
The final tally revealed that 5 out of the top 7 teams were from England.
Right at the top with a completely dominant performance was England 1 comprising Marc Franco, Kai Sheffield and Jason White. Undefeated on 12 wins, they only dropped 24 points all weekend, a remarkable performance.
In 2nd place on 11 wins was England 5 comprising Scott Ashby, Becky Edwins (the only female player in the English squad), Tim Edwins and Steve Brown. In third place with 10 wins and a plus points of 80 was England 8, comprising Martin Hughes, Sylvestre Mananasy and Sofiane Mehdi.
Jersey 2 was the top team from the island comprising Geoffroy Buttetrille, Toby Northern and Alan Oliviera was also placed 6th overall with 10 wins and a plus points of 42.
Wales 5 was the top team from the principality, comprising Ian Bailey, Julie Bailey, Len Field and Jean-Yves Robic was placed 7th overall with 10 wins and a plus points of 40.
Scotland’s highest performing team was Scotland 8 comprising Colin Montgomery, Mags Montgomery and Pascal Agab with 6 wins and -6 points. They were placed overall in 12th position in the tournament and dealt that killer blow to Welsh hopes of a runners up placing in the very final match of the tournament.
Friendship and celebration
All in all, this was a memorable 24th edition of the Home Nations that was not only very well-organised but also delivered a special ambiance of friendship. It was a great celebration of our sport and everyone can look forward to the ‘Silver Anniversary’ next year in Scotland, which Scottish Pétanque Association Alison Swiffin announced would be in the historic city of Stirling at the closing presentation.
Add Comment