England teams dominate at Five Nations in Nantes

England were emphatic winners of both U15 and U13 trophies at last weekend's Five Nations tournament against France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales at Maison du Squash in Nantes.

As in previous years, both age categories were organised in a round-robin format, but teams were expanded to six players for the 2025 edition, with an equal split of three boys and three girls.

England were unbeaten in all four matches in both age groups, but the U13 team was the most dominant, winning 23 of their 24 matches in straight games!

The U13 line-up – comprising twin brothers Oscar and Finley Brown, Ben Lamond, Sienna Hampshaw, Siona Mishra and Rida Ali - opened the tournament with emphatic 3-0 victories against Scotland and Ireland.

In their third tie, England conceded their only game of the tournament, when Hampshaw needed four games to overcome Wales’s Grace Breach. The final fixture, a de facto final against fellow unbeaten side France, ended in a clean sweep for England, with all six players again winning in straight games.

The triumph marked England’s 14th win out of 14 in the U13 category since the tournament's inception.

England Potential Head Coach Adam Fuller reflected:

"With the exception of Oscar Brown, this was the first time any of the U13 team has had the chance to play for England, so there were plenty of learning experiences to take away. Playing against other nations and being part of a team dynamic are important lessons.

"Historically, France have been very competitive and playing there can be quite intimidating with a vocal crowd. The courts in Nantes were also quite slippery. For the result to be so emphatic shows how well they managed all those conditions on and off the court."

The U15 team - Matthew Hong Ki Leung, Jaanshere Khan, Will Burton, Ameerah Ismail, Esther Chak, and Phoebe Griffiths - were equally impressive, cruising to 18-0 whitewashes over Wales and Scotland, and dropping just one game in a dominant win over Ireland.

Like the U13s, the U15s faced France in a final-round title decider, with both teams unbeaten going into the tie.

English U15 junior champion Leung got England off to a flying start with a 3-0 win over Lysandro Joneau, but recent French Junior Open U15 winner Maxence Imbert levelled the match with an attritional four-game victory over Khan.

Griffiths, Chak and Ismail then asserted England's dominance with rapid wins over Rafaella Guidoni, Elia Grossi and Lily Romeu respectively (Griffiths won 22 points in a row to complete her victory). With the result sealed, Will Burton kept his foot on the padel by conquering Arthur Deletre in four.

The England U15 team's next assignment is at the ESF European Mixed Team U15 & U17 Championships in Bordeaux from 7-11 May.

"Our U15s are back in France in a month's time and although the European Championships are a different format [two boys and one girl in each team] this was a nice way of seeing where we're at compared to France, who are so often a major rival for us at Europeans,” continued Fuller.

"There's no doubt that having three boys and three girls favoured us in Nantes because we have an incredibly strong group of girls in this age group. To have the additional girl made us even stronger. We're delighted how both teams performed and to see us dominate to such a degree is very promising for the future."

For full results visit the French Squash Federation website.