AFTER 13 years without World Championship gold, the England Men’s Float Team are back on top following a resounding win in Portugal.
The side finished eight points clear of the Czech Republic come the final whistle, after a stellar performance on day two elevated them from fifth place to top of the podium.
On the Soraia River in Coruche, the team of Will Raison (captain), Matt Godfrey, Sean Ashby, James Dent, Cam Hughes and Frankie Gianoncelli, co-managed by Mark Downes and Lee Kerry, were remarkably consistent. Will also picked up individual bronze, adding another medal to his glittering collection.
“It’s an outstanding result,” Mark Downes told us. “Coruche is a venue I’ve always liked – I’ve won team gold on my last three visits with different England teams.
“It’s a technical and rewarding venue, well-suited to top-quality anglers who can adapt. The draw is important, and aside from 16 points we picked up over the two days from the dreaded A section – where early or late pegs, which we didn’t get, were best – we averaged second in section elsewhere.”
After day one, England’s 22 points put them in fifth, but a superb 13-point score on day two put the side in an unassailable position.
“We had three section wins on day two – from Frankie, Will and Sean – plus a second for James and an eighth for Matt Godfrey from A section,” Mark added.
On a personal note for Mark, this medal is his 18th team gold at World level.
“It’s been a great career, and it’s not over yet!” he said. “Sometimes in international fishing, you don’t really know what will happen on the day of the match as you’ve not quite got the tactics cracked, but on this occasion, we settled on a three-line approach on the pole, which we had great faith in.”
THE RESULT
1ST ENGLAND – 35 POINTS
2ND CZECH REP – 43 POINTS
3RD HUNGARY – 45 POINTS
4TH ITALY – 46.5 POINTS
5TH FRANCE – 49.5 POINTS
6TH PORTUGAL – 50 POINTS