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World Champs glory sees England youth top world rankings.
England’s youth teams are quite literally on top of the world as they travel back from France, as this weekend’s fantastic World Championship performance has seen them rise to the top of the World rankings.

The table – which is worked out on medal count over a five-year period, is used to determine which teams are regarded as the best in the world – and we now top the chart at both junior and senior levels.

England’s international events co-ordinator, Dick Clegg, was the first to congratulate the teams and their management. He said: “A massive well done to both the intermediate and the junior teams; they have done brilliantly.

“What Steve Sanders achieved with the U18 team was particularly special – something that has never been achieved before. To win both days of the World Championship, and take the top four individual placings is incredible. They have set a precedent that I doubt will ever be beaten. It is certainly the best international team result that I have ever heard of.”

So how did the Sensas-backed junior team, made up of Sam Hughes, Bradley Gibbons, Joe Kent, Matt Barnett, Tom Moretti, manager Steve Sanders and coach Joe Roberts achieve such a remarkable feat?

Steve explained: “I travelled over and watched the French National Championship a few weeks ago – and from that I was able to get a very good idea of what we needed to do to come back with a medal.

“The key was finding the correct depth to fish in, as the venue got progressively deeper as you moved away from the bank. We found around 4.5 metres was the best – but finding a flat area on the bottom was also very important. It soon became apparent that slider fishing was going to be the key method to master – and I cannot praise highly enough how quickly and proficiently the team got to grips with it.

“We practised the venue from the Tuesday before the Championship, and soon came to realise that a positive feeding approach was going to hold the key to victory. We reduced the amount of joker and maggots in our bait allowance, and increased the amount of worms that we took.

“The venue’s bigger fish seemed to feed better as the match went on, so I limited the lads to feeding three litres in the first hour, four in the second hour, and five in the third hour to make sure we had enough bait left for when we really needed it.

“With our plan in place, it was all down to the lads. I cannot praise highly enough how well they prepared for the event – every bit of bait that was fed was thrown by hand at a range of 20 to 25 metres, and the practice that they put in with this was clear to see on the day. They all fished like true professionals.”

Drennan Team England U23s, made up of Matt Godfrey, James Dent, Matt Derry, Rory Jones, Alex Clements, Oliver Scotthorne and manager Mark Downes, came back with a silver medal. Rory Jones finished his debut Intermediate Championship in style  – returning with an individual bronze medal.

Pole Fishing’s editorial assistant, Matt Godfrey, was pleased with the result. He explained: “The venue proved very changeable over the two days, with thunderstorms altering the pace and flow of the river – and even leading to the match being interrupted on the second day!

The changing conditions made some of the things that we had worked out in practice a little irrelevant, but the team and runners thought on their feet, and we were delighted to come home with a medal.” 

Wales entered a team into the Intermediate category only, and finished in 17th place.

Official Result:

Under 23s

Teams
1 Hungary
2 England
3 Germany

Individuals
1 Szymon Ciesielski (Poland)
2 Sjord Milder (Holland)
3 Rory Jones (England)

Under 18s

Teams:
1 England
2 France
3 Czech Republic

Individuals:
1 Sam Hughes (England)
2 Bradley Gibbons (England)
3 Joe Kent (England)
4 Matt Barnett (England)