GUERNSEY RETAINS MIXED TITLE AT 2009 MAINLAND CUP

A THRILLING 5 – 4 win over Spain at last weekend’s Mainland Cup gave Guernsey’s Mixed A touch team the mixed title.

Guernsey Touch took two mixed teams to this year’s two-day tournament which was held in Heidelberg in Germany and was attended by 10 different European nations. The Mixed A retained the mixed title having won it at the inaugural Mainland Cup in 2007 and Mixed B came fourth.

‘It was a fantastic performance from every single member of the squad and their commitment, effort and attitude were an absolute credit to Guernsey. There is no doubt that the touch community definitely knows about Guernsey and the teams in green were described by the organisers as the teams to beat,’ said Guernsey Touch chair Katrina Bray.

‘We were unsure how well we would do at this year’s tournament as the line-up of our teams had changed dramatically since last year so it’s outstanding that we have returned with the trophy. As the sport has grown in Guernsey, the reliance on non-locals to bolster the team has reduced and we now have a very stable team which we can build upon over the winter ready for next year’s European Championship in Bristol.’

Guernsey Mixed A was in a pool with Scotland, Belgium, Germany and Austria while Guernsey Mixed B faced Spain, Holland and France in their round-robin games.

Mixed A’s first game saw them beat Germany 9 – 1 with four touchdowns from Alec Bailey, two each from James Gavey and captain Mark Rodliffe and the ninth from Aaron Le Masurier. In their second game they scored eight touchdowns to beat Austria who only managed to get through Guernsey’s defence twice. Le Masurier added two more touchdowns to his tally, Iain Atchison scored another two and Gavey, Rodliffe, Andrew Dunn and Andy scored one apiece.

Mixed A then Belgium in what was a much closer game which finished in a 7 – 5 win for the Sarnians. Dunn scored twice and then there was one each from Le Masurier, Carly Parrott, Emma Curtis, Gilly Kennedy-Smith and Gavey. Mixed A then had to wait more than four hours before their next game but the rest obviously benefited them as they beat Scotland with May scoring twice and the remaining touchdowns coming from Dunn, Parrott, Clio Phelan and Ollie Ward.

Mixed A’s four wins put them top of their table and secured them a semi-final place against Mixed B who had finished second in their table after two wins and a loss.

Mixed B’s first win came against France in a game which ended 7 – 3. Richard Duchemin scored twice and there were also touchdowns from Dominic Page, Nick Merrien, Alex Miller, captain Dave Strawbridge and Hannah Lord who was Guernsey’s first woman to score.

They followed this victory with another after a close-fought game against Holland which saw Matthew Brehaut leave the field with an injured shoulder. Duchemin scored three touchdowns, Mills scored two and Page scored one. Their final game of the day ended in a 3 – 8 defeat to Spain with Guernsey’s touchdowns coming from Duchemin, Miller and Page.

After ice-baths and a night’s rest, the Guernsey teams were ready for their head to head battle for a place in the finals. Having trained together for months, the teams knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses and as the stronger team, Mixed A faced more of the pressure.

Mixed B had the pleasure of taking the lead when Duchemin used his pace to break through the defence and score what was to be Mixed B’s only touchdown. Mixed A took the game and the place in the final with eight touchdowns with Ward the only player to score twice and the remaining touchdowns from Rodliffe, May, Le Masurier, Bailey and Parrott.

The game for third place saw Mixed B take on Belgium who had proved tough competition for Mixed A the previous day. Lord was Guernsey’s only scorer of the game which ended in a 1 – 5 defeat to give Mixed B fourth place overall.

The mixed final was the penultimate game of the day and there was plenty of support for Guernsey and Spain from other teams who had already finished their games. Spain showed that despite its infancy they are a strong side and Guernsey had to play hard for the whole game to make their touchdowns. But their hard work paid off and with touchdowns from Kennedy-Smith, Parrott, Le Masurier, Laura Cravo and Rodliffe, they took the game, the title and the trophy 5 – 4.

The weekend also saw four Guernsey referees receive upgrades which was the highest number from all the nations present. Guido Bohlmann and Paula Townsend were awarded with their Level 3 badges and Cravo and Bray received their Level 2 accreditations.

‘Guernsey Touch has always taken the approach that in order to improve the standard of the games, it is essential that you have qualified referees and so we have invested significant amounts of our sponsorship from Ernst & Young into training referees. Level 2 and 3 upgrades have to be assessed at an international tournament and so to have four referees receive upgrades at one tournament is phenomenal,’ said Bray.

Guernsey travel to Jersey on Saturday for the annual inter-insular tournament.

Guernsey’s squad at the Mainland Cup was:
Mixed A
Aaron Le Masurier
Alec Bailey
Andrew Dunn
Andy May
Carly Parrott
Clio Phelan
Debbie Wilson
Emma Curtis
Gilly Kennedy-Smith
Iain Atchison
James Gavey
Laura Cravo
Mark Rodliffe
Ollie Ward

Mixed B
Alex Miller
Claire Tostevin
Dave Strawbridge
Dominic Page
Hannah Lord
Jess Regnard
Katrina Bray
Lauri Warlow
Matt Brehaut
Matthew Chick
Michelle Boddy
Nick Merrien
Richard Duchemin

Manager Sonia Hewitt

Referees Guido Bohlmann
Paula Townsend