For the third year in a row, the Meadow Pétanque Club are the champions of England and will represent our country once again at the international finals of the CEP’s EuroCup in Sin-le-Noble from the 5th to 8th November 2025.
The Meadow squad from Kent comprising Jonathan Castaing, Becky Edwins, Federico Faucher, Rowland Jones, David Plumhoff, Kai Sheffield, Alex Spillett and Jason White once again showed their collective class, winning all three rounds against their opponents Baldock Town (Chiltern), Bargeman’s Rest (Isle of Wight) and River Hamble (Southern Counties).
The usual format was followed at the Worthing Pétanque Club, with each round comprising six Single matches worth 2 points each, followed by three Doubles matches worth 3 points each and finally two Triples matches worth 5 points each. There also has to be a single gender Singles and a mixed gender contest in both Doubles and Triples.
P365’s Tim Edwins was on hand to bring live and exclusive coverage and you can see his excellent streams on our Facebook Group.
Round 1
The opening round on Saturday morning saw Meadow take on River Hamble and Baldock Town face Bargeman’s Rest.
Meadow were immediately firing on all cylinders and although there were a couple of close contests, notably Federico Faucher versus Marc Franco in the Singles, Becky Edwins versus Kaylee Thatcher also in the Singles and David Plumhoff/Alex Spillett/Becky Edwins (sub) versus Kaylee Thatcher/David Cruz in the Mixed Doubles, Meadow won every game. The 31-0 points total was certainly the start they were hoping for.
Meanwhile, Baldock enjoyed a similar but slightly less overwhelming win over Bargeman’s Rest by 25 points to 6. The wins for the islanders came from two Doubles matches.
Round 2
Meadow took on Bargeman’s Rest after lunch and this led to another dominant display with only veteran player Simon Gifford chalking up a lone victory in the Singles against David Plumhoff, although Emma Stockbridge was only narrowly defeated 13-11 by England international Becky Edwins.
It was to be the match between Baldock and River Hamble which really put Meadow in the driving seat as the south coast-based team ground out a notable 19-12 points victory.
The results in the Singles saw six points shared each with wins for Baldock’s Jack Blows, Sofiane Lachani and Ella Slade, while Marc Franco, Callum Lombard and Steve Lombard prevailed for River Hamble.
Baldock then grabbed the initiative in the Doubles with wins from Jeremy Huntley & Jack Blows versus Pat Dennis & Steve Lombard and Sarah Huntley/Ben Gallimore/Sam Blakey (sub) versus David Cruz & Kaylee Thatcher. It was only Callum Lombard and Marc Franco that kept River Hamble’s hopes alive with a strong performance against Baldock’s Matt Eversden and Sofiane Lachani.
The Triples matches worth five points each are often decisive and Baldock went into the two matches knowing that they only had to win one of them to take the tie and set up a showdown against Meadow the following morning.
In the Mixed Triples, David Cruz, Pat Dennis and Kaylee Thatcher defeated Sam Blakey, Jeremy Huntley and Sarah Huntley, meaning that it all hinged on the final Triples.
This contest between Jack Blows, Matt Eversden & Sofiane Lachani and Marc Franco, Callum Lombard proved to be a very tight affair, with River Hamble edging it 13-11.
This meant that overnight, Meadow had two round wins and 60 match points while Baldock had one round and 37 match points and River Hamble had also one round win and 19 match points. Bargeman’s Rest were in fourth place with no round wins and 8 match points.
The rules state that round wins are counted first and in the case of equal round wins, the tie break is on total match points. This meant that if Meadow won their tie against Baldock, they would secure victory, but failing that, taking just five match points would be enough. Even with two round wins and 31-0 match points victory against Bargeman’s Rest, River Hamble could not win.
Meadow were clearly in the driving seat having only dropped two match points in one Singles match across the two ties, while Baldock’s tie loss to River Hamble had left only a very narrow route to victory based on a 28-3 points victory or better.
Round 3
In the decisive Meadow v Baldock tie on Sunday morning, it was all over after the Singles as three wins and six match points were shared between the two teams. With only 19 match points left tup for grabs, Meadow had an uncatchable 23 points margin over Baldock.
In those Singles matches, Baldock’s Sofiane Lachani achieved a good win against Jason White and so did Jack Blows against David Plumhoff and Jeremy Huntley against Jonathan Castaing.
However, the tournament was sealed for Meadow by the wins of Federico Faucher against Matt Eversden, Kai Sheffield against Sam Blakey and finally Becky Edwins against Ella Slade.
Although Meadow had become England’s champion club, thee rest of the tie was played out as there was still the runner’s up position to be decided between Bladock and River Hamble.
Baldock won two out of the three Doubles with Jeremy Huntley/Ben Gallimore/Matt Eversden (sub) defeating Federico Faucher and Jonathan Castaing, while in the Mixed Doubles, Ella Slade and Jack Blows won against Becky Edwins and David Plumhoff. It was Kai Sheffield and Jason White that kept Meadow’s chances alive with a convincing victory over Sam Blakey and Sofiane Lachani.
With the match points at 12-9 in Baldock’s favour, they knew that a single win in the two Triples matches would win the tie. It was not to be. Convincing wins followed for Federico Faucher, Rowland Jones & Jason White against Jack Blows, Matt Eversden & Sofiane Lachani and Jonathan Castaing, Kai Sheffield & Alex Spillett against Sam Blakey, Jeremy Huntley & Sarah Huntley/Ella Slade (sub).
The 19-12 match points victory for Meadow meant they had won all three rounds, while the defeat meant Baldock dropped back into third place after River Hamble secured runners up with a dominant 29-2 match points victory over Bargeman’s Rest.
Final results & MVP
Champions: Meadow – 3 round wins and 79 match points
Runners Up: River Hamble – 2 round wins and 48 match points
3rd: Baldock Town – 1 round win and 49 match points
4th: Bargeman’s Rest – 0 round wins and 10 match points.
Looking at the performance of individual players, Medow’s Kai Sheffield stood out as the Most Valuable Player as he played Singles, Doubles and Triples in every round, winning all nine matches.
This underlines the excellent season that Kai has been having, demonstrating his progress as one of the country’s best players. He’s yet to represent England at a European or World Championships at senior level, but on the evidence of 2025, his wait will not be too much longer.
Meadow now can look forward with relish to competing once again in the magnificent boulodrome at Sin-le-Noble, France where they hope to progress on last year’s highly commendable performance, qualifying for the Quarter Final, only to lose against a very strong Italian team. Let’s hope that they can go one step further and take England to a new level, a much-prized semi-final.
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