Source: Angling Trust
Team England, comprising: Callum Graham, Ben Harrison, Oliver Hopkins, Daniel Stote, Toby Oldfield, Jake Butcher (Reserve) and Malcolm Stote (Manager), only had two team practice sessions prior to the championships, but from then on they came up with a game plan to take on the other teams head on.
The first day saw the team finish in fifth place with the Spanish team blitzing the day. Just one additional fish of any species each would have put Team England as high as second place and with this in mind, and a few changes in tactics, the team went into the next day with a chance of a medal.
Team England were still not catching the number of mullet the Spanish team were on the second day but a team talk resulted in a new method late in the day and as a result the team finished with a win, which placed them joint third and in medal contention going into the final day.
On the final day Ben Harrison got off to a great start catching from the word go and with Callum Graham catching fish in his section Team England were in the mix for top three finish.
In the end it was very close: Toby Oldfield and Oliver Hopkins were catching, but in low positions and Dan Stote had caught most in his section. Going into the last hour Ben was holding his own and winning his section, Callum was keeping the pressure on, Toby was working hard trying to find extra fish and Oliver had found a couple of mullet to put himself back into contention. With less than an hour to go Dan landed a flurry of mullet and Oliver pulled in a double shot, taking him well up in his section.
At the finish the final team result had England and Spain both on 9 points but a countback saw England win the prestigious team Championship title. Better still Oliver Hopkins had done enough to take the individual title too!
Malcolm Stote, England Team Manager, commented:
“During the championship Jake and I were rushing around getting as much information, and encouragement to the team as possible. What a fantastic championship with so many highs and lows, you had to be there to experience it – it was magical, and totally amazing.”
Team Result
1st England – 9 points
2nd Spain – 9 points
3rd Netherlands – 13 points
4th – Croatia – 14 points
Individual Result
1st Oliver Hopkins, England – 22 points
2nd Miguel Rodriguez Candel, Spain – 32 points
3rd Jesus Garcia Hernandez, Spain – 32 points
4th Mauro Luksic, Croatia – 35 points
England Placings
1st Oliver Hopkins
6th Daniel Stote
7th Ben Harrison
18th Callum Graham
23rd Toby Oldfield
