How to watch 2022 Men's U21 World Championship

On Wednesday, the England men’s U21 field team get their 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U21 World Championship campaign underway against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in Pool A.

The following day, on Thursday, they’ll play USA before a rest day followed by the final two pool stage matches against Australia and Canada on Friday and Sunday respectively, as England look to progress to the next stage of the competition.

In June, Head Coach, Ryan Garnsworthy and his team of coaches announced their 23-player squad to head to Limerick, Ireland for the Championship and they travelled to Dublin last week where they’ve played a couple of warm-up scrimmages in preparation for the tournament.

Over the next few days, they’ll continue to train hard before their opening fixture against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy at 1pm BST on Wednesday.

World Lacrosse has partnered with ESPN and Lax Sports Network to broadcast all 86 games of the Championship with 22 games being distributed on ESPN+ and via select ESPN International platforms with two games – a semifinal and the gold medal match – also televised in the United States on ESPNU.

The remaining 64 games will be offered globally by Lax Sports Network. LSN streams for free in over 40 countries worldwide across several platforms, including Local Now, Sports Tribal, Select TV, Sports.TV, Distro and Stremium. 

Pool A Streaming Schedule

10 August

USA v Canada | 12.00 | ESPN+
Haudenosaunee v England | 13.00 | Lax Sports Network

11 August

England v USA | 16.00 | BT Sport 2
Canada v Australia | 19.00 | ESPN+

13 August

Australia v England | 16.00 | ESPN+
USA v Haudenosaunee | 19.00 | ESPN+

14 August

Haudenosaunee v Australia | 16.00 | ESPN+
England v Canada | 19.00 | BT Sport 4

15 August

Australia v USA | 16.00 | ESPN+
Canada v Haudenosaunee | 19.00 | ESPN+

England win first major tournament title after victory over Germany

Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

England claimed their first ever major tournament title after they defeated rivals Germany 11-8 in the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship final.

Prolific goal-scorers throughout the tournament Elliot Leonard and Matt Marsh bagged themselves a hat-trick each in a tight and tense game at the Eisarena in Hannover, Germany.

It was always going to be a close affair with the nature of England and Germany’s rivalry, Germany playing on home turf, and two top quality teams out of the floor and it was England who started the brighter and found themselves one goal to the good after just 45 seconds when Leonard expertly rolled a Germany defender, dived across the crease and scored.

Despite the powerful start from England, Germany worked their way back into the game, showing their quality, but unable to find the finish until nearly seven minutes in when Justin Wismer ran around the back of the England goal and equalised, seemingly taking goalie Cameron Macleod by surprise.

England continued to play their game and found themselves ahead through Leonard once again who fired one in from 10 yards after being played in by Ben Buchanan.

In games as close and as tight as this one, a two goal lead can be huge and that’s exactly where England found themselves when playing a man up with only a couple of minutes left in the first quarter.

Bunio was able to receive the ball in front of goal, evade two Germany defenders and slot home from just outside the crease to ensure England went into the second quarter 3-1 up.

England were able to really stamp their authority early in the second quarter despite another Wismer goal to cut their lead to one goal as Dan Watson first squeezed one past the Germany goalie before Marsh scored his first with an emphatic high to low finish.

But such is the frenetic nature of box lacrosse that Germany were able to score three without reply at the back end of the quarter to see the sides go in at half-time with the scores perfectly poised at 5-5.

Head Coach, Walt Christianson, impressed upon his team throughout the tournament to remain calm and keep playing their game no matter what and this really paid dividends in the third quarter as England came out after the break and scored three in quick succession.

First, Leonard completed his hat-trick after some lovely movement around the Germany defence, before Tyson Roe drew a defender out of position, allowing Marsh to hit his second from range.

Then, Roe finally got in on the action himself using his strength and speed to blow away two Germany defenders and the deft flick of the wrist to finish was straight out of the top drawer!

Despite England being the dominant force in the third quarter, Germany were not without danger as was proved when they clawed a goal back with England a man down.

But England weren’t phased by this and, with Marsh eyeing up a hat-trick, they always looked dangerous on the attack.

And with five to go before quarter time, Marsh scored his third to complete his hat-trick after some lovely work around the crease from Watson and Bunio allowed the England attacker the space to shoot.

England’s job was made slightly harder just before the end of the third quarter when Dan Watson was ejected from the game for committing a major foul on a Germany defender leaving England without one of their start attackers for the final 15 minutes.

Despite the set-back with Watson, England came out for the fourth and final quarter with determination to hold onto their lead and replied to Germany’s seventh through Leonhard Nöring with two goals to effectively put the game to bed.

Bunio was able to squeeze a shot past the goalie as he was falling to the ground just outside the crease before Groves hit one for the cameras as he received a pass, ran at goal, jumped across the crease and finished with aplomb!

A late Germany goal wasn’t enough to galvanise a true comeback from the opposition and England held on for the win and their first ever major tournament title in the box lacrosse format.

You can relive the game in full HERE.

England Points: Lyndon Bunio (2G 4A), Dave Groves (1G 2A), Elliot Leonard (3G 1A), Matt Marsh (3G), Tyson Roe (1G), Dan Watson (1G).

Saturday 6 August Results

Austria 17-9 Poland | Cons.
Belgium 17-6 Ireland | Cons.
Slovakia 12-8 Switzerland | 5th Place Games
Czech Republic 15-8 Finland | 3rd Place Game
England 11-8 Germany | Final

England reach European Championship final with one goal win over Czech Republic

Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

England reached a first ever major tournament final after they defeated Czech Republic 13-12 in a tight and tense semi-final match at the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship.

It was really a tale of two defences and how to break them down with both teams showing the quality they have at the back.

England started with high energy and huge intent and were ahead after a couple of minutes as Dan Watson smashed one in after some tricky work from Matt Marsh around the crease.

And they were able to double their lead a minute later, as Cameron Macleod showed great vision to pass to Tom Bracegirdle, who was making an up field run and then used his skill, speed, and strength to get past a Czech Republic defender and slot home.

It was always going to be a tough match against the team who finished second at the inaugural European Box Lacrosse Championship five years ago and Czech Republic got themselves level in no time at all after goals from Tomáš Procházka and Dominik Pešek.

Even after just one quarter, from a spectator point of view, this was the best game England had been involved in in the tournament so far and they edged themselves back in front shortly after the restart; Dan Watson scoring his second of the day with a great shot that rippled the top left corner of the Czech Republic net.

But such is the nature of box lacrosse, Czech Republic found themselves level once again with the very next attack. Pešek grabbing the goal this time.

Saying the first half of this game was end-to-end is somewhat of an understatement and a rare Taylor Harrison goal for England was followed up by another equaliser for the opposition.

England then found themselves in unfamiliar territory as Czech Republic scored through Tomáš Hájek who pounced on an uncharacteristic lapse in England defensive concentration to find acres of space and score one-on one with Macleod.

Being a goal down in a game is something England hadn’t had to contend with since their opening game against Scotland but they dealt with the set-back with ultimate professionalism; by continuing to play their game and trust in the process.

It took a little bit of magic though and Matt Marsh was there to provide when called upon, scoring with an exceptional behind the back shot after Luke Mills had worked the ball up the pitch.

Unfortunately, Czech Republic equalised again within two minutes but that’s when England really turned it on heading into half-time.

Marsh, seemingly having got the taste for it, scored his second and England’s sixth 18 seconds after Czech Republic got their noses in front and then Lyndon Bunio scored a screamer after being played in by Dave Groves.

Half-time. 7-6. Finely poised.

England came back out after the break and were able to maintain the head of steam they’d built up at the back end of the second quarter and scored through Elliot Leonard after the other rEngland attackers had guided the Czech Republic defenders away from goal.

Another goal for the opposition came but, by the standards of this game, England were running away with it now.

Bunio scored a fantastic individual goal after running around the goal, dodging past a defender, and placing his shot in the top corner before Jordi Jones-Smith, who only scores spectacular goals, picked up the ball just outside the defensive crease, sprinted 25 yards and fired home!

Jamie Powell added to his steady stream of goals at this tournament with another shortly after Czech Republic added an 8th and England headed into the final period three goals ahead after a late goal by the opposition.

The England fans were getting into full voice now and were called into action after a Czech Republic player wasn’t happy with the way Bunio dived across the crease for a shot, even mimicking it to the officials.

This 7th player, a secret weapon for England at the European Championship so far, helped push Ben Buchanan towards goal and score after some patient play around the opposition net.

What was a fairly healthy lead for England all things considered became very fragile as Czech Republic scored three without reply to leave the scores at 13-12 heading into the final one minute and 10 seconds.

A timeout for Czech Republic with 43 seconds left on the clock and one for England with 19 seconds left yielded no further goals and England head through to Saturday’s final where they’ll play Germany for a chance to win the trophy!

Watch the game live HERE or follow play by play updates on the England Lacrosse Twitter page.

England Points: Tom Bracegirdle (1G), Lyndon Bunio (2G 2A), Ben Buchanan (1G), Taylor Harrison (1G), Jordi Jones-Smith (1G), Elliot Leonard (1G 1A), Matt Marsh (2G 1A), Jamie Powell (1G 2A), Tyson Roe (1G), Dan Watson (2G 1A).

Friday 5 August Schedule (times BST)

Netherlands v Belgium | 12.30pm | Cons.
Austria v Serbia | 14.45pm | Cons.
Poland v Ireland | 15.30pm | Cons.
Scotland v Sweden | 18.30pm | 7th Place Game

Saturday 6 August Schedule (times BST)

Austria v Poland | 08.45am | Cons.
Belgium v Ireland | 09.30am | Cons.
Slovakia v Switzerland | 12.30pm | 5th Place Game
Czech Republic v Finland | 15.30pm | 3rd Place Game
England v Germany | 18.30pm | Final

England secure semi-final spot with superb win over Sweden

Czech Republic await England in the semi-finals of the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship after a brilliant 19-7 win over Sweden in their quarter-final match.

Dan Watson and Lyndon Bunio, who have been unplayable at times during the tournament so far, scored four goals each, taking their individual tallies to nine and 12 respectively.

And despite an early showing from Sweden in the first quarter and somewhat of a comeback in the third, England were good for the win.

England started with intent and found themselves in front after just 20 seconds when Elliot Leonard continued his fantastic scoring run with a simple finish just outside the crease.

Shortly after, Bunio scored his first of the day after some deceptive work between him and Watson left the Sweden defence for dead and he was able to finish with ease.

Sweden proved they weren’t just there to make up the numbers, however, as they regrouped and scored first through Kevin Powers and then through August Snyder to equalise.

With this wake-up call in mind, England kicked into gear at the end of the first quarter and Dave Groves bagged a goal before Jordi Jones-Smith and Ming Trinh bullied a Sweden defender back over the halfway line to allow Tyson Roe to pick up the resulting dead ball, sprint towards goal and finish.

The second quarter followed much of the same script except England seemed intent on killing the game early with a string of goals.

Tom Bracegirdle emulated the goal he scored in the previous game against Switzerland by catching the ball in space, powering towards goal, feigning to go high, then finishing with a low shot with Bunio scoring his second, and England’s sixth, shortly after before Watson hit his first of the game.

Then England hit a bit of a rocky patch as they had a series of penalties called against them resulting in them playing two men down for a large chunk of the second quarter.

But once they were back level on players, they continued their run of fine finishing; Jones-Smith scored a rare but impressive eighth for England as he received the ball with his back to goal, blocked the defenders attempts at checking, before turning and scoring with a diving shot and Leonard completed the half’s goals as he hammered the ball past the Sweden goalie from range.

At half-time, Head Coach, Walt Christianson’s instructions were for England to kill the game off and his players seemed intent on fulfilling his wishes early in the third, with Groves and Trinh scoring before Bunio’s impressive individual goal, with as casual a finish you’re ever likely to see, completing his hat-trick.

A Jamie Powell goal came just before a period dominance from the opposition as Sweden scored three without reply, despite Eliot Pugh’s best efforts in the England goal.

Those five minutes in the third quarter proved to come back to haunt the Sweden players as England began their own six goal without reply run after being clearly irked by Sweden’s goals.

Watson scored his second after some tireless work from Powell, Bunio evaded the Sweden defenders and claimed his fourth, Watson completed his hat-trick and then snatched a fourth, finishing a superb passage of England play in style, Ben Buchanan scored his first goal at the tournament much to the delight of his team mates, and Trinh finished the scoring with 20 seconds left to wrap up the game for his team.

In the late quarter-final game, Czech Republic overcame Switzerland in a 23-5 rout to set-up a mouthwatering semi-final tie with England tomorrow at 15.30pm BST that you can watch HERE.

England Points: Tom Bracegirdle (1G 1A), Lyndon Bunio (4G 3A), Ben Buchanan (1G), Dave Groves (2G), Jordi Jones-Smith (1G 1A), Elliot Leonard (2G 2A), Jamie Powell (1G 3A), Tyson Roe (1G), Ming Trinh (2G), Dan Watson (4G 3A).

England MVP: Eliot Pugh.

Thursday 4 August Schedule (times BST)

Belgium v Austria | 08.45am | Cons.
Ireland v Netherlands | 09.30 | Cons.
Sweden v Switzerland | 12.30pm | sf2
Slovakia v Scotland | 12.45pm | sf1
England v Czech Republic | 15.30pm | SF1
Germany v Finland | 18.30pm | SF2

England reach quarter-finals against stubborn Switzerland

Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

England secured their spot in the quarter-finals after a big 14-5 win over Switzerland at the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship.

Elliot Leonard scored four, including three in the second half while star attacker, Lyndon Bunio, hit his second hat-trick of the tournament in the win.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing as it took England the first quarter to work Switzerland out and truly impress themselves upon the game.

Indeed it was Switzerland who drew first blood with one minute 52 seconds on the clock as Florian Bachmann scored after some patient play.

Dan Watson was able to equalise almost immediately but Switzerland edged in front once again through Sebastian Heri following some nice work behind the goal in a frantic first three minutes or so.

Switzerland were tight in defence and parked the bus, successfully denying England any concrete chances on goal.

But if you’re ever looking to get out of a sticky situation then Bunio’s your man and he came up trumps in the second quarter with two quick fire goals to pull England ahead.

After a period of England pressure, Bunio first scored from range after finding a little pocket of space in front of goal and then slotted home after some tricky work around the goal.

Jamie Powell finally afforded England some breathing space after latching onto an upfield pass, sprinting through the Switzerland defence, and sending a nice high to low shot into the net.

It was one way traffic then for the remainder of the second quarter and Tyson Roe showed his pedigree four minutes from the half, picking up the ball in the England defensive third, sprinting towards goal and scoring through the goalie’s legs.

Leonard and Groves got in on the action too before the half-time hooter to see England finish the second quarter the stronger and head over to Head Coach, Christianson, for the half-time team talk 7-3 up.

The third quarter was a tight battle fought between two good quality and hard-working defences and it was Switzerland who looked the more likely to score but England’s previous game’s MVP and goalkeeper Cameron Macleod kept the opposition out.

It was Leonard who finally broke the stalemate with the second of his four goals and the only point of the quarter after his hugely stuttered run up tricked the Switzerland defence.

But what took them over 10 minutes to do in the third took them just 35 seconds in the fourth when Powell scored from 11 yards out.

The game opened up from this point becoming end to end in every sense of the phrase! A fourth Switzerland goal was replied with a fantastic individual effort from face-off specialist Tom Bracegirdle who won a ground ball in front of the defensive crease, turned on the speed, faked to go high, and scored through the goalie’s legs.

Bunio’s hat-trick goal followed a fifth for Switzerland and this time a trademark shot while diving across the crease was enough to beat the ‘keeper.

And when Bunio’s hat-trick was complete, soon followed Leonard’s, who completed a superb piece of play that saw Macleod pass to Luke Mills who drew the Switzerland defenders before passing across goal to Leonard to finish with aplomb.

With the game coming to a close, Leonard scored his fourth and England 14th in almost identical fashion to see England overcome Switzerland and advance too the quarter-finals.

England will now return to the Eisarena for a quarter-final match-up against Sweden, a team they defeated just five days ago in a pre-tournament scrimmage.

Coverage of that match will start at 1.30pm CEST/12.30pm BST over on sportdeutschland.tv and across England Lacrosse social media.

England Points: Dan Watson (1G 1A), Lyndon Bunio (3G 3A), Jamie Powell (2G 1A), Tyson Roe (2G), Elliot Leonard (4G 1A), Tom Bracegirdle (1G), Dave Groves (1G).

Wednesday 3 August Schedule (times BST)

Austria v Ireland | 08.45am | Cons.
Scotland v Germany | 09.30am | QF2
Sweden v England | 12.30pm | QF1
Poland v Belgium | Cons. | 12.45pm
Slovakia v Finland | QF3 | 15.30pm
Netherlands v Serbia | Cons. | 16.45pm
Czech Republic v Switzerland | QF4 | 18.30pm

England makes it two wins out of two with victory over Ireland

Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

England claimed their second successive victory at the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship after securing a 12-5 win over rivals Ireland.

Four goals from the energetic Matt Marsh along with a hat-trick from the ever dependable Lyndon Bunio ensured that England left the Eisarena with the win, despite a frustrating, feisty, and bitty second half.

England, who came into this game off the back of a closer than expected 13-8 victory over Scotland on the opening day of the tournament, couldn’t have asked for a better start as Marsh opened the scoring after just 43 seconds.

And, just as it looked like Ireland might be getting a foothold, Bunio was able to latch onto an upfield pass and score on the turn.

This second goal for England after four minutes knocked the wind out of Ireland’s sail and England were able to deny them any meaningful possession for much of the rest of the half.

England had chance after chance; first, Albert Whitehead saw his shot stopped easily before Marsh was denied by an unbelievable diving save by the Ireland goalie.

But it was only a matter of time before England grabbed their third and it was through Bunio once again who was in the right place at the right time in front of goal to catch, leap across the crease, and score.

Something of a trademark for this England team, Dave Groves also got in on the action with his own version of the dive across the crease goal, after he’d attacked the Ireland goal from a tight angle for England’s fourth.

Despite a shaky start to the second quarter and thanks to some help from eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match, goalkeeper, Cameron Macleod, England were able to weather the small Ireland storm and see it to half-time, while also adding two more goals courtesy of England’s opening day hat-trick hero, Dan Watson, and Marsh once again.

Whatever Ireland’s coaching team said to their players during the half-time team talk clearly had an impact and the team from across the Irish Sea were a different beast in the third quarter, scoring their first goal a couple of minutes in.

England were able to retain their six goal lead after Jamie Powell sold two Ireland defenders with a fake shot before hammering the ball into the top corner.

At this point, Ireland showed their quality by scoring three without reply and frustrating the England players with their aggressive style of play.

With the score at 7-4 and Ireland looking the more likely to push for more, England showed why they’re ranked fifth in the world first through Bunio who snatched his hat-trick and then through Whitehead who picked up the ball on the halfway line and broke quickly with Tom Bracegirdle in a two on one situation.

And when Bracegirdle blocked the run of one of the Ireland defenders, Whitehead was able to take a free hit at goal, which he did perfectly, scoring through the goalie’s legs.

The opening minutes of the fourth and final quarter proved to be the Matt Marsh show as he scored his third and fourth goals in front of the adoring England fans up in the stands and effectively putting an end to any glimmer of an Ireland comeback.

From this point onward, the game took a turn and a series of fouls led to England being granted two penalty points; Ireland did not have enough players on the field to continue the game so the game was stopped and England were given the opportunity to score one on one with the goalie.

On both occasions, England missed the chance to pull further ahead but they did manage to finish the game off in style through Whitehead’s second goal of the game with just one minute and nine seconds remaining after he picked up the ball in the attacking third, faked a couple of shots and scored.

With that win, England top Pool D and will play winners of Pool C, Switzerland, who are also unbeaten so far, in the crossover game tomorrow at 6.30pm BST.

England Points: Matt Marsh (4G), Lyndon Bunio (3G 2A), Albert Whitehead (2G), Dave Groves (1G), Dan Watson (1G, 1A), Jamie Powell (1G)

Crossover Schedule (Tuesday 2 August, times BST)

Serbia v Ireland | 09.30am
Slovakia v Austria | 12.30pm
Belgium v Scotland | 15.15pm
Netherlands v Poland | 15.30pm
England v Switzerland | 18.30pm

Watson hat-trick earns England perfect Euro 2022 start

Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

An excellent final quarter that saw England score four and concede just one ensured they made the perfect start to the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship against Scotland.

A hat-trick from Dan Watson as well as braces for Elliot Leonard, Matt Marsh, Lyndon Bunio, and Jordi Jones-Smith eventually saw England earn a deserved 13-8 win over their close rivals.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though and England were made to work for their victory, finding themselves 6-4 down in the second quarter and going in for half-time at seven all.

And it was Scotland’s main man, Cole Paciejewski, who proved to be the thorn in England’s side as his relentless style saw him bag four goals in a frantic first half.

England’s ability to remain calm under pressure and trust in their abilities paid dividends in the second half, however, as they scored six, including a fantastic individual effort from Jones-Smith who picked up the ball in defence, broke quickly, and fired home, while conceding only two.

With seven different scorers and the team successfully defending Paciejewski out of the game in the second half, Head Coach, Walt Christianson, will be pleased with what he saw and will be optimistic about the prospects for this England team going forward at this Championship.

Next up for England, it’s another Home Nations derby as they take on Ireland at 3.30pm BST on Monday afternoon.

You can find out how to watch that game as well as all the others at the Championship HERE.

England Points: Dan Watson (3G 2A), Elliot Leonard (2G 1A), Lyndon Bunio (2G 2A), Jordi Jones-Smith (2G), Matt Marsh (2G), Will Allsop (1G), Dave Groves (1G 1A)

England Lacrosse supports Active Summer Challenge

England Lacrosse is delighted to support the Youth Sport Trust’s Active Summer Challenge which aims to encourage as many children and young people as possible to remain active over the summer.

The Active Summer Challenge sets children and young people a series of challenges (one challenge per week), each related to exciting moments of sport that are taking place through the summer.

The challenges are fully inclusive from a socio-economic background perspective, and also easily adjusted for pupils with SEND. A core part of the challenge is that children will set their own pledge and add in how many minutes they were physically active for each day.

Research has found that one in four year six pupils are obese with 2.4 million young people active for less than 30 minutes per day while 53% of young people believe their social wellbeing has suffered since the Covid pandemic.

The Active Summer Challenge aims to get some of these children and young people moving as well as celebrate the fantastic sports events happening in July and August, from the UEFA’s Women’s EURO 2022 to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The Challenge will help children be active every day by setting their own pledge and taking part in the six weekly challenges.

There are resources for teachers to help launch this challenge in schools, fun activity cards for children and links to some lots of amazing content from sport organisations. You’ll find everything you need on the dedicated website HERE. 

How do you set the activity pledge?

• The aim should be to reach the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines for physical activity. This is 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity or a minimum of 20 minutes a day for children with a disability. You can build up to 60 or 20 minutes across the day – it doesn’t need to be in one burst. 

• Choose an activity – or different activities – that are enjoyable. Having fun is a key motivator for children, so supporting them to plan a fun activity, perhaps linking up with friends and family, or something you could do alongside them, would help keep them engaged.  

• The pledge can be simple – it might be participating in the Daily Mile, playing their favourite sport, walking to and playing in their local park with friends, doing a set number or minutes of an action like star jumps, doing all the 10 minute Summer Shake Up activities in the holidays, or choosing videos to complete from the Active Recovery Hub. 

• Use the pledge tracker to write down the pledge and record what activity takes place every day. There’s a certificate available for teachers to celebrate children’s achievements as they return to school in September. 

Alongside their pledge, six weekly activity cards with a challenge focused on a sport or activity have been created; these are fun and inclusive with all the information provided on each page for each week.

For further inspiration, you can use the active recovery hub to find activities suitable for individual needs across a wide range of sports. 

Once children have completed their pledge and the challenges, there is a certificate for you to keep and celebrate all your good work.

And if you want to make your Active Summer Challenge lacrosse-specific, we’ve created our own handy challenge for you to try!

How to watch England at the European Box Lacrosse Championship

After a wait of two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, the England box lacrosse team begin their 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship campaign on Saturday against neighbours, Scotland.

Two days later, on Monday afternoon, they’ll play their second and final pool stage game against Ireland for a spot in the quarter-final.

Last month, Head Coach, Walt Christianson and his team of coaches announced their 25-player squad to head to Hannover, Germany for the Championship and they travelled yesterday on the back of a victory in a scrimmage with an all-stars team during their final training session on home soil in June.

Over the next few days, they’ll have an outdoor training session on and an exhibition game (TBC) before a final training session on Friday ahead of the game against Scotland on Saturday.

Every game at the tournament, including every England game, will be streamed live on sportdeutschland.tv but you’ll be able to keep up to date with all things England throughout the Championship on the England Lacrosse social media (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram).

Pool Stage Streaming Schedule (all timings BST)

Saturday 30 July

08.30 | England v Scotland
09.15 | Sweden v Belgium
11.30 | Finland v Serbia
13.15 | Slovakia v Serbia
14.30 | Austria v Switzerland
19.00 | Czech Republic v Germany

Sunday 31 July

09.30 | Scotland v Ireland
11.45 | Germany v Slovakia
12.30 | Belgium v Finland
15.30 | Serbia v Sweden
15.45 | Poland v Czech Republic
18.30 | Netherlands v Austria

Monday 1 August

08.45 | Finland v Sweden
09.30 | Czech Republic v Slovakia
12.45 | Netherlands v Switzerland
15.30 | Ireland v England
15.45 | Serbia v Belgium
18.30 | Germany v Poland

Registration opens for England Lacrosse mixed lacrosse leagues

Registration has opened this week for the England Lacrosse mixed lacrosse leagues for the 2022/23 season with entry for this year open to all England Lacrosse affiliated clubs and universities.

Mixed leagues’ fixtures typically take place on Sundays from October through to March with teams split into local/regional based leagues depending on the geographical spread of entries.

All teams will play each other both home and away in their regional league and teams will be responsible for sourcing and booking facilities for their home games and arranging transport for away games.

The entry cost for this season is £90 per team and all players competing in the EL Mixed Leagues must be aged 18 or over and hold a current England Lacrosse Individual Membership.

Registration is open until Monday 29 August; fixtures will be released by 5 September with first matches set for the weekend of 8/9 October.

Southern Box Lacrosse to host Box Fest this September

Southern Box Lacrosse is set to host Box Fest, a tournament featuring four drafted teams and over nine hours of box lacrosse, on Sunday 18 September.

Taking place at the home of box lacrosse in the south of England, the 3G Dome at Oxford Academy, the tournament will also feature a bespoke women’s session, although women are encouraged to sign up to play in the main tournament too.

The day is sure to be packed full of box lacrosse with games taking place every 30 minutes starting from 10.30am until 8pm and each game containing two 10-minute halves.

Southern Box Lacrosse has announced the women’s session will provisionally run between 12-1.30pm and the mechanics for the team draft for the main tournament will be released in due course.

Sign up for Box Fest is now live with the cost of an individual wanting to play in the main tournament set at £30 and the cost for the women’s session at £15.

Southern Box Lacrosse is an organisation that aims to promote box lacrosse in the south of England and encourage people to take up the sport; they organise several box lacrosse-specific events throughout the year as well as assist with the senior England team set-up too.

England Lacrosse announce VYPR SPORTS as official grip sock partner

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce VYPR SPORTS as our official grip sock partner, providing high quality performance sports socks to our England teams in 2022.

The new partnership covers our England women’s, box, and U21 men’s teams throughout the summer as they compete in the World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship, European Box Lacrosse Championship, and World Lacrosse Men’s U21 World Championship respectively.

VYPR SPORTS are a sports brand who specialise in high quality grip socks for performance athletes who are looking for marginal gains within their sport.

The doctrine of marginal gains states that in any area of a given sport – no matter how small or apparently insignificant – you should look to make all possible improvements.

VYPR SPORTS believe that footwear, in particular grip socks, is a specific area where significant marginal gains can be not only captured, but also felt.

Their trademarked foot stability technologies within each sock secures the wearer’s foot inside their boot/shoe reducing the chance of slippage resulting in maintained power when changing direction at pace.

VYPR SPORT technology also includes anatomical shaping, and targeted arch support to ensure the best fit of the sock to your foot.  When combined with the technical grip, the chances of blisters are dramatically reduced.  Structure compression aids support and helps to prevent swelling through increased blood circulation.  This, in turn helps stimulate quicker recovery.  The inclusion of premium yarns, and technologies applied to yarns such as Drirelease® in the Suregrip® Lite sock, gives 4 x faster wicking capabilities than the average sock which helps keep feet drier for longer. Strategically placed venting also help promote both breathability and wicking.

As our England teams look to perform to their best in each summer tournament, England Lacrosse Head of Commercial & Marketing, Caroline Royle, believes VYPR SPORTS can assist the teams in reaching that next level.

“Our England teams are always striving to be the best and we believe this new partnership with VYPR SPORTS can help us achieve that with their high quality, high performance, and elite athlete approved grip socks.

“We’re delighted to have VYPR SPORTS onboard as we enter an exciting period for lacrosse in England and on the international stage.

“Having worked with numerous top elite athletes in sports such as football, rugby, netball and numerous other sporting disciplines, VYPR SPORTS is a leader in their field and can help propel our England teams to the next level this summer.”

Roger Orr, Managing Director at  VYPR SPORTS, commented:

“We are delighted and thrilled to be entering into this partnership with England Lacrosse.  We see this as a fantastic opportunity to showcase our performance grip socks on such an exciting, exhilarating, and fast paced sport.  We look forward to a long, ongoing partnership with England Lacrosse.”

England box team to host supporters thank-you event in Hannover

The England 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship squad and coaches are set to host a thank-you event to show their appreciation to those who travel to the tournament to support the team.

Entitled ‘Meet Team England’, the event, which will take place on Friday 5 August between 5-7pm at the team hotel in Hannover, Germany, will be the perfect opportunity for the squad to thank those supporters who make the journey and for the fans to meet and chat with the England squad and support staff.

The thank-you event will take place the evening before England’s final game at the European Championship which could be a fifth place game, a third place game, or a final (!) but the team are hoping it’ll be a good chance for them to relax before finals day.

A supporters pack is available HERE for those travelling to the tournament which contains more details about the location of the team hotel.

Read more about the 23-player England squad heading to Germany HERE and the competition schedule for the team HERE.

England Lacrosse supports Sport Relief's Move 22 campaign

England Lacrosse is delighted to support Sport Relief’s Move 22 campaign which aims to get people moving every day from 28 July to 8 August to mark the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

A collaboration between Sport Relief, United by 2022, and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation, Move 22 aims to raise money for Sport Relief to help tackle inequality, improve mental health, and help young people to survive and thrive.

Move 22 is asking people to move 22 miles (or do something memorable 22 times) over the 12 days of the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham.

To sign up, simply complete the Move 22 registration form HERE and you’ll be able to order an exclusive t-shirt as well as set up a JustGiving page.

Then, all you have to do is pick your challenge (run, swim, cycle, pogo - as long as you move 22 miles, it’s up to you), drum up support with the help of Sport Relief’s digital tools, and complete your challenge during the 12 days of the Games.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games is the third Games to be held in England and the first for 20 years when the 2002 edition was held in Manchester.

It is expected that over 5,000 athletes from 72 Commonwealth nations will take part in what will be the 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games.

Tributes after death of former Oldham & Werneth player and referee Dave Scholes

England Lacrosse is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Oldham and Werneth Lacrosse Club player, referee, and referee trainer, Dave Scholes.

Peter McGinnety, who knew Dave, also known as Biffo, through their joint association with officiating, has written the following tribute to his friend.

“I first met Biffo when he was the home official at Oldham and Werneth Lacrosse Club, in the days when games were officiated by one panel referee and one home referee.

“One memorable occasion, when we worked together, was a game when Oldham travelled to Morethorpe. As the Yorkshire side had no referee, David volunteered to help out (he always had his kit ready in the car!).

“Both teams had a reputation for being hot headed and, as the game progressed, this attitude resulted in several players from each team, including both captains, being "fouled out" - having collected too many personal fouls. Just into the fourth quarter, a further incident occurred leading to a mass brawl, soon joined by those previously fouled out.

“The rookie Biffo wanted to throw himself into the melee; I held him back as helmets, gloves and sticks flew in all directions. As things died down, I blew my whistle and declared that the game would not continue.

“The players showered and changed and met up at the Morethorpe watering hole, where the only fighting was to buy each other beer! The Morethorpe captain pleaded, "thaas not going to report us is thee"?

“Both teams were reported to the disciplinary committee and were fined £25 each. Biffo, as well as being  prosecution witness, was also Oldham's treasurer, so he paid the fine. I often wonder whether he was reimbursed.

“David went on to join the referees’ panel and progressed through the levels of officiating, eventually gaining his treasured blue International Badge.

“His encyclopaedic knowledge of the rules, which extended to not only knowing the rule number but even the page number where it could be found in the rule book, made him an obvious candidate to become the Referees' Association Training Officer, a role he fulfilled for many years.

“Many of today’s top officials started their careers by attending David's courses.

“David himself represented England at World Championships in Japan (1996) and Australia (1999) and travelled with England to referee in the prestigious Field of Dreams Tournament in the USA.

“It is sad to hear of David’s passing but he will live on because most referees have a Biffo story to recount.

“Thank you David for your service to our beautiful game.  Our thoughts are with your family.”

England Lacrosse would like to echo the words of Peter and thank Dave for his service to the game we all love over the years and extend our condolences to Dave’s family at this difficult time.

Dave’s wife, Christine, has requested that people raise a glass and drink to Dave on the Friday 29 July, the date of his funeral.

Great Britain women finish fourth at The World Games after Australia defeat

The British Women’s Lacrosse Team joined the men’s team in finishing fourth at The World Games after an agonising 7-13 defeat to Australia in the bronze medal game on Sunday.

It was always going to be a tough task for Great Britain to make the medal table after 10 of their 12 players were involved in a gruelling Women’s World Championship campaign that only finished three days before the start of the women’s lacrosse competition at The World Games.

At that tournament, England took home the bronze medal in dramatic fashion with an over-time goal securing victory against Australia and it was these same opponents Britain were to meet in The World Games bronze medal game.

It proved tough from the out-set for the British team as they found themselves 3-1 down at the end of the first quarter and 6-2 down at the half.

But Britain seemed to grow into the game and looked a lot sharper in the second half, but it was too little too late and, despite their best efforts, they fell to Australia who took home the bronze medal.

It was a tough five days for the British Women’s Lacrosse Team but a period that certainly won’t be forgotten in a hurry as sixes lacrosse made its debut at The World Games.

For Britain, it all started with a difficult opening match against reigning silver medalists, Canada, who had just come off the back of a narrow defeat to the USA at the Women’s World Championship, a game in which 10 of their 12-player squad were involved.

They boasted names such as Dana Dobbie and Aurora Cordingley but it was Britain who excelled in large parts of the game, pushing the lacrosse heavyweights all the way.

Four goals from Iona Dryden and one for each of Claire Faram, Laura Merrifield, Tilly Foster, Laura Warren, and Emma Oakley saw this impressive British team 9-7 up in the third quarter and all square at 9-9 heading into the fourth.

But, it wasn’t to be as Canada showed their ruthlessness by shutting Britain out in the final quarter and goals from Cordingley (2), Nicole Perroni, Megan Kinna, Annabel Child, Erica Evans, and Dobbie ensured a 16-9 victory.

Great Britain’s second pool game was another challenging prospect against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and so it proved with Britain eventually finding themselves 9-6 down with just under four minutes to go in the match.

The team managed to rally, however, and turned the game on its head with goals from Merrifield, Liv Wimpenny (2), and Chess Gray seeing Great Britain one goal ahead at 10-9.

But with just one second left on the clock, the Haudenosaunee worked the ball into a great position where Ivy Santana slotted home from close range to take the game into over-time.

Cue a cagey four-minute period of golden goal over-time in which neither side looked confident enough to commit fully to an attack.

But in such moments, the best players always step up and with one minute, twenty seconds remaining in the over-time period, Merrifield, who has so often helped England through many a tight game over the years, came up with the goods for Britain, weaving through the Haudenosaunee defence and scoring inches away from the crease.

Britain took on their third and final pool stage opponents, Israel, knowing that a victory would secure a place in the semi-finals and a match-up with the USA and they seemed determined to make that happen from the start in a first quarter that saw them score four goals without reply and head into the second 5-2 up.

Israel returned to the field for the second quarter a different team, successfully slowing Britain down, and eventually pulling the score level at 9-9 by the end of the third quarter.

After the experience of over-time in their previous match, Britain were looking to wrap up a victory in normal time and big goals from Oakley (2), Warren, Jenni Aiton, and Gray sealed a close 14-12 win.

Two wins and a loss in the pool stage put the British Women’s Lacrosse Team in good stead for the semi-final but playing the USA is never easy.

And in a demonstration of the strength in depth that the USA have at their disposal, none of their 12 players had been in Towson, Maryland for the Women’s World Championship.

They were able to reduce Britain to very little in front of goal throughout the whole game and even the vast experience of Merrifield and Faram in the attack wasn’t enough to see their team score more than five goals.

Six goals from Ellie Masera and hat-tricks from Kasey Choma and Madison Adhern ensured the USA came out on top in each quarter and secured a 21-5 victory.

USA went on to lose out on the gold medal to close rivals Canada who won their first The World Games title with a tight 14-12 win.

Britain then played out their bronze medal game against Australia who proved too strong and a blistering performance from Thea Kwas, who scored five, coupled with a hat-trick from Georgie Latch gave their team a 13-7 win.

Results

GB 9 - 16 Canada | Pool Game 1
Scorers: Dryden (3), Faram, Foster, Oakley, Merrifield, Warren

GB 11 - 10 (OT) Haudenosaunee Confederacy | Pool Game 2
Scorers: Oakley, Wimpenny (5), Faram, Dryden, Merrifield (2), Gray

GB 14 - 12 Israel | Pool Game 3
Scorers: Merrifield (3), Faram, Oakley (4), Aiton (2), Gray (2), Warren (2)

GB 5 - 21 USA | Semi-Final
Scorers: Dryden, Faram (2), Merrifield, Wimpenny

GB 7 - 13 Australia | Bronze Medal Game
Scorers: Merrifield (2), Faram (2), Oakley, Wimpenny, Aiton

Great Britain Top Scorers

Laura Merrifield | 9
Claire Faram | 7
Emma Oakley | 7
Liv Wimpenny | 7
Iona Dryden | 5

Great Britain men earn fourth spot at The World Games

The British Men’s Lacrosse Team had to settle for fourth spot at The World Games 2022 as they succumbed to an agonising 18-19 over-time defeat to Japan in the bronze medal game on Wednesday morning.

This year’s edition of The World Games has seen World Lacrosse Sixes make its debut on the global stage and men’s lacrosse included for the first time and the British boys were unlucky not to leave Birmingham, Alabama with a bronze medal around their necks.

An incredible performance from Lyndon Bunio that saw him score eight of Britains’s 18 goals against Japan helped to claw his team from 10-6 down in the second quarter to 17-16 in the fourth.

A goal from Alex Russell and one from Ryan Hunns just 33 seconds before the end of the game then helped to push Britain into golden goal over-time.

But it wasn’t to be for this hard-working British side in 2022 as, at the halfway point of the first period of over-time, Japan’s Kabuki Obana scored his fourth of the game to earn his side the third spot and the bronze medal.

Overall, the British Men’s Lacrosse Team will look back on this campaign positively as they began with a very impressive win over Australia in their opening match.

It was a tough game to start the competition but, in many ways, the perfect preparation for the games to come and, despite being 7-4 down mid-way through the third quarter, Britain rallied and with the help from a hat-trick each from Bunio and Ben Page-Laycock, they won 13-11.

Next up, an even tougher test against the USA who had already brushed aside Germany 27-10 in their opening fixture.

A brilliant first few minutes saw Britain go 1-0 up through Ryan Hunns and they capped off a faultless first half with a Bunio goal seeing them go in 4-4 at the half.

USA were able to come out for the second half and show why they are such a dominant lacrosse force and five goals from Ryan Conrad helped his team to an eventual 17-9 victory.

The games were coming thick and fast for Britain and their third and final pool stage game saw them take on European rivals, Germany, knowing that a win would ensure a spot in the semi-finals.

This match-up was perhaps the most straightforward of Britain’s five games at The World Games 2022 with the team coming out on top in each of the four quarters, including an emphatic 7-2 third quarter.

Four goals each from Alex Russell and the ever-reliable Bunio, as well as hat-tricks from Ryan Sweetman, Zac Guy, and Page-Laycock helped Britain reach the semi-finals with a 22-10 victory.

Now, the really tricky part: a semi-final against a formidable Canada side who had already made light of Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Japan, and Israel in Pool B, scoring 73 goals and conceding just 26.

They hadn’t lost a single quarter on their way to the semis and the most they’d shipped in a quarter was five goals.

Unfortunately for the British Men’s Lacrosse Team, Canada were determined to keep this run going and, despite a valiant effort, and goals from eight different scorers, Britain were unable to overcome the team from North America, eventually losing 11-22, setting up a mouth-watering bronze medal tie against Japan who were beaten by USA 17-12 in the other semi-final.

And Great Britain v Japan proved to be one of the games of the tournament (some would say even better than the final which saw Canada hammer USA 23-9) with both teams unable to be separated after four quarters and 32 minutes of fast-paced, relentless sixes lacrosse.

Lacrosse, especially sixes lacrosse, can be brutal and that’s how it proved in the end for Britain’s men as they fell to an over-time goal from Japan to finish fourth at the inaugural lacrosse competition at The World Games.

Attention now turns to the women’s competition as the Great Britain Women’s Team take on Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Israel in Pool B.

Last night, Britain were defeated 16-9 in their opening game of the tournament against Canada.

All Britain’s games can be watched on Olympic TV for free HERE.

Results

GB 13 - 11 Australia | Pool Game 1
Scorers: Pomfret (2), Russell (2), Page-Laycock (3), Bunio (3), Hunns, Sweetman, Bracegirdle

GB 9 - 17 USA | Pool Game 2
Scorers: Page-Laycock (2), Hunns (2), Bunio (2), Pomfret (2), Sweetman

GB 22 - 10 Germany | Pool Game 3
Scorers: Bunio (4), Bracegirdle (2), Sweetman (3), Kirkland, Guy (3), Page-Laycock (3), Russell (4), Hunns, Pomfret

GB 11 - 22 Canada | Semi-Final
Scorers: Page-Laycock, Bunio (2), Hunns, Russell, Sweetman (2), Pomfret, Mills (2), Kirkland

GB 18 - 19 (OT) Japan | Bronze Medal Game
Scorers: Sweetman, Kirkland, Russell (3), Page-Laycock, Bunio (8), Hunns (2), Bracegirdle, Pomfret

Great Britain Top Scorers

Lyndon Bunio | 19
Ben Page-Laycock | 10
Alex Russell | 10
Ryan Sweetman | 8
Ryan Hunns | 7
Mike Pomfret | 7