2023 Rivers Home International, River Ebbw, Wales
Country: WALES
Venue: River Ebbw
Dates: 21st to 24th June (incl.)
Match date:Friday 23rd June
Accommodation: Bryn Meadows Golf Hotel & Spa, Ystrad Mynach
AT Team England Fly Fishing will be represented by: Carl Nixon (captain), Cameron Craigs, Stan Moore, Dan Scott-Paul, Gavin Walsh, Brian Lillie (reserve) & Peter Scholes (manager).
The best of luck to everyone taking part.
With Carl Nixon qualifying for the team for the 2023 Rivers Home International on the River Ebbw in Wales, Peter Scholes has been appointed as the 2023 Rivers Team Manager in his place.
Peter will continue in his role as Rivers National and Qualifiers Co-ordinator.
2022 Rivers Home International, River Don, Scotland
24th June 2022
1. Scotland 65 fish 2968 pts 47 placing pts
2. Wales 55 fish 2589 pts 50 placing pts
3. Ireland 59 fish 2621 pts 51 placing pts
4. England 56 fish 2517 pts 56 placing pts
Individual Winner: Ross McKeen, Scotland 5 placing pts
Largest Fish: Terry Bromwell, Wales 73.3 cms
AT TEFF was represented by: Cameron Craigs (captain), James Atkinson, Harry Fox, Chris Micallef & Carl Nixon. Congratulations to Scotland on their convincing victory.
Carl Nixon reports: Arriving for pre match practice on Sat 18th, we were greeted with strong 35mph+ winds. Looking at the forecast we knew match week would be settled, very warm and with sporadic cloud, all teams were in for some excellent fishing.
These gusts stayed until late Sunday where we covered Beats B & C in relative shelter from the weather. On beats B & C, known as the Streams and Upper Parkhill, we were soon experiencing the excellent fishing we had been told about. Although the deceptive flow to the river and some of the hardest wading we’ve experienced made the fishing unsteady under foot, the practice was off to a great start.
Monday we were joined by current EPP & National Champion James Atkinson, who had been taking part in an EPP event on the River Ure. James joined us on Parkhill, Beat D. Where we were lucky enough to encounter some brilliant fishing, with several of the team landing fish to 5lb. As the day progressed, a pattern and a possible match plan was starting to take shape. To that point we decided that to hopefully save increasing fishing pressure, we limited catches to 2/3 fish and move on. We progressed to Beat E in the afternoon. Where yet again we stuck to the 2/3 fish plan and steadily put together a comprehensive beat map and approach.
Tactics were discussed at length at the regular nightly team debrief, practice flies, thoughts on set ups, and tales of lost monsters.
Beats were drawn Wednesday evening, with the surprising outcome of all teams having several anglers fishing their team mates water from the morning sessions. This alone made all teams have a slight rethink to their match plans.
Small drab flies in the 14-18 range, either fished at distance with floated sighter or nymphing style on the level line.
Emerger style patterns for the slow water
Duo in the streamy riffles.
Match Day
As we all headed off to our respective start points, the weather was extremely warm for the 0930 start, 24 degrees, mist in the air, and a very high air pressure made fishing very sticky.
Harry drew Beat A, James Beat B, Beat C for myself, Chris drew the lovely beat D and Cam drew Beat E.
As we met for lunch after session 2, the scores were tentatively worked out, tales from all teams of blanks on some sessions, and some high catch returns for all teams, made the halfway score very tight. Scotland 20, Wales 26, Ireland 25, England 29. Unfortunately Harry failed to get on the score card in the morning session, which meant we needed a great afternoon session. Having a chat, we knew our match plan was correct, we had all generated fish or chances, so we regrouped and knew we could make the afternoon session ours.
As we met after session 4, we knew the scores would be tight, and after doing some quick maths, we knew that we had won both session 3 & 4, all we could have asked for and more.
As the result was announced, Scotland were congratulated and deserved winners. Sadly our session wins in 3 & 4 weren’t enough as the place points just weren’t where we needed them to be.
We stuck to our individual & team match plan, and unfortunately it didn’t quite pay off as we had hoped.
I couldn’t have asked any more from the rest of the team during practice & match day, we were 110% committed, just not our day.
Thank you to Team Captain Cameron Craigs who led from the front all week.
Fellow team mates Chris Micallef, James Atkinson, Harry Fox, Mark Lynch & myself.
Thank you to the following who kindly supported Team England.
Jason Lieverst & Nicole Darland of MasterNymph USA
Mike Laycock of Craghoppers
Franta Hanak of Hanak Competiton.
Glasgow Angling Centre.
Last but certainly not least, every angler, and family members who very kindly bought raffle tickets, bonus ball tickets and donated where they could.
2022 Rivers Home International
The 2022 Rivers International is being held in Scotland on the River Don at Inverurie between 22nd – 25th June. Full details are available on the “Future Events” page of the IFFA website at iffa.net.
The England 2022 River International team is the carried over team from the 2019 qualifiers. The team members are: Carl Nixon (Manager), Cameron Craigs (Captain), Harry Fox, James Atkinson, Chris Micallef & Mark Lynch (Reserve).
2020/21 Rivers Home Internationals
Due to the current Covid-19 virus outbreak, the AT TEFF Executive have agreed the following courses of action:
As the 2020 Rivers Home International has been cancelled, the 2020 team will be rolled over to compete in 2021. The outcome of the delayed Qualifier and National programme (as per above) will form the Team to fish in 2022.
2019 Rivers Home International
Country: IRELAND
Venue: River Agivey
Dates: 3rd to 6th July (incl.)
Match date: Friday 5th July
Accommodation: The Bushtown Hotel, Coleraine
The Rivers International team flew and drove to Northern Ireland on Sunday to fish the River Agivey, in the IFFA Rivers Home International against Scotland, Wales & Ireland from 3rd – 6th July.
With a mix of overall international experience and fresh faces to the Rivers Team, the lads have put in hours of homework and time on the water – two team weekends which included an advance 3-day trip to Ireland to ensure the best possible start and outcome to their trip.
The host nation will be hard to beat on home water, but the team have given everything so far to ensure they can get the best possible result! Best of luck guys!
The Rivers team: Carl Nixon (Manager & Reserve), Del Spry (Captain), Simon Clarke, Cameron Craigs, Paul Fairhurst, Mark Lynch.
Results:
- Ireland – 87 fish – 3882 fish pts – 34 placing pts
- Scotland – 49 fish – 2119 fish pts – 50 placing pts
- England – 41 fish – 1795 fish pts – 54 placing pts
- Wales – 32 fish – 1403 fish pts – 63 placing pts
Individual Winner (winner of the ‘Moc Morgan’ Trophy): Donal Monaghan (Ireland) – 5 placing pts
Largest Fish (winner of the ‘Mike Childs’ Trophy): Glen McCrave – 35.1cms
Congratulations to Ireland. With all five of their team in the top six, this was certainly a convincing victory by the home side.
Full Results: 2019 IFA River International Results
AT TEFF England Rivers Team 2019
AT Team England – Bronze Medallists in the 2019 River Home International
River Agivey, Ireland
A trout about to be measured on match day
Wychwood Game supplied softshell jackets
Pure Fishing, Hunt’s Original & Albury Estates supported Team England
The Angling Trust reports: The ATTEFF Rivers Team consisting of Del Spry (Captain), Cameron Craigs, Mark Lynch, Simon Clarke, Paul Fairhurst and Carl Nixon (Manager/Reserve) headed out to the River Agivey in Ireland to compete in the recent Home International, 1st-5th July. England had several new caps in its team of six and beating the home team, and the experienced Welsh and Scottish teams, was always going to be a difficult task. Three of the team went out for a three-day trip in June to practice on the river and this proved valuable as the team prepared on the official practice days before the match.
As the week and practice progressed the team worked well to come up with working methods and to identify fish holding areas and access points. However, the big numbers and sizable fish soon made themselves scarce as match day approached. The team settled on a few successful methods, these being; the Duo, Double Nymph, a Single Plume Tip for the rising fish, and a larger Parker’s Dry in dead water slowly twitched back to get a response. The river conditions all week were ideal, however, agricultural machinery, capable of raising and dropping the level 2-4 inches in a matter of an hour or so, made the fish a little skittish at times.
On match day the Scottish and Welsh teams picked up blanks in the morning session and the Irish and English all caught. Things were close heading into the afternoon session. The afternoon sessions proved difficult and again the Scottish and Welsh teams picked up more blanks, unfortunately so too did the England team. The final scores saw Ireland win on home turf, with Scotland taking silver and England bronze.
Del Spry, Team Captain, said, “On the whole the week went very smoothly; the Irish did a fantastic job at organising everything. The team worked well together and worked hard on the water, both during practice and match day. We had an inexperienced team, but they were not lacking in effort and this showed in the results as we were only a few points behind a very experienced and disciplined Scottish team. This was a great England team and with more experience at this level I am sure we can improve on the results next year.”
Carl Nixon, Manager, said, “For an inexperienced team, we pushed a very experienced, circa 50 capped Scottish team hard for Silver. It was not the result we had hoped for but one we are all proud of considering the experience of the other teams. We would like to thank our sponsors Wychwood Game, Pure Fishing, Hunt’s Original and the Duke of Northumberland and Albury Estates for their support.”
2018 Rivers Home International
Country: ENGLAND
Venue: River Ure
Dates: 20th to 23rd June (incl.)
Match date: Friday 22nd June
Accommodation: The George Hotel, Piercebridge
Results:
- Scotland 36 fish 1616 fish pts 46 placing pts
- Ireland 46 fish 2079 fish pts 48 placing pts
- England 37 fish 1646 fish pts 56 placing pts
- Wales 33 fish 1498 fish pts 59 placing pts
‘Moc Morgan’ Trophy : Terry Bromwell (Wales) – Top Individual – 6 placing pts
‘Mike Childs’ Trophy: Brian Russell (Ireland) – Biggest Fish – 42.9cms
Congratulations to Scotland to their victory on a day of bright conditions.
AT Team England FF was represented by:
Fred Bainbridge (captain), Jonathan Barnes, Mark Harrison, Del Spry, Gilliaum Vermeulen, Scott Nellins (reserve) & Jeremy Lucas (manager).
Full Results: iffarivers2018
The Angling Trust reports:
Scotland Secure Gold in the International Fly Fishing Association Rivers International
Friday, June 22nd, probably the most difficult conditions this season in terms of conditions for fly fishing. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales met on the River Ure to contest the IFFA River International on the magnificent Bolton Castle Estate in North Yorkshire. The harsh reality of the results suggests indeed that the conditions were hostile, despite the conditions each and every angler gave their all and it was Scotland who prevailed and took the gold medal.
Team England was ferociously captained by Fred Bainbridge whose boundless energy drove the entire team, which included three new caps, Gilliaum Vermeulen, Del Spry and Mark Harrison, such that even this comparatively inexperienced team was always going to be a threat. Fred’s intimate knowledge of the Ure, and tactical prowess was shared with the team from the day he was made captain and the team also benefited hugely from the experience of veteran dry fly master, Jonathan Barnes.
The draw for starting pegs did not aid England’s cause, but then a draw should never be an excuse. The standard at international level, on rivers, is now higher than it has ever been, and vastly experienced England manager, Jeremy Lucas commented “In my own observation I witnessed an exemplary performance, both in the build-up preparation and the international itself, of each team member. This includes the perception and experience of our seasoned reserve, Scott Nellins. It was heartening to see them go out there, with the entire range of methods and fly types at their disposal, with strength throughout a team – which was biased towards the inexperienced at this level – and then to see such a performance.”
The morning sessions were generally poor for England and the team found themselves in last place at the lunch time break. In such testing conditions avoiding the blank was incredibly important, but unfortunately for England, through no lack of effort, they recorded a couple. However, Jonathan Barnes secured two first placings in his morning sessions, while both Fred Bainbridge and Del Spry secured one second placing. Although with the afternoon to come, England were still confident they could recover and move up the table.
To a degree, England showed this as the team romped away to two firsts and two seconds in the third session, but the river had also ‘died’ by this time. Clear skies and bright sunshine meant conditions failed to improve, while a strong downstream wind developed making conditions even more challenging for all anglers on the water. The final session came down to avoiding the blank and England’s Mark Harrison took two fish, enough to win his section in very challenging conditions. Despite the team registering measurable fish it wasn’t enough to challenge the other nations for the title and Team England finished in third place as the event came to an end.
The ever popular and magnificent competitor Terry Bromwell, of Wales, to great applause, won the Moc Morgan trophy for the top individual, while his team fished hard they could only manage a fourth place. Ireland pushed the overall winners closely and had the consolation of the Mike Childs trophy for the day’s biggest fish (42.9cm), though it was Scotland who stole the day.
Jeremy went on to say “On such tiny things do international fly fishing championships hinge. Had Jonathan Barnes caught a fish in his last session, he would have won the day. Had the single fish caught by Fred, Gilliaum and Del been a little bigger, they too would have massively influenced the results. Finally, the best team on the day always wins, but Team England performed admirably, all the way back to the moment it was formed on last year’s National Final, and each member can hold his head high with pride. It was a great privilege to be with them throughout the campaign. Our congratulations go to Team Scotland on winning the event and to Terry Bromwell and Brian Russell on their individual achievements.”
Results:
Teams: 1st, Scotland; 2nd, Ireland; 3rd England; 4th Wales.
Individual: Terry Bromwell, Wales, with six placing points. Top England rod, in 5th, was Jonathan Barnes. Other Team England placings: Fred Bainbridge (Captain), 11th; Del Spry, 15th; Gilliaum Vermeulen, 16th; Mark Harrison, 18th.
Photograph courtesy of Paul Baker Photography http://www.paul-baker-photography.co.uk/
2017 Rivers Home International
Country: WALES
Venue: River Ebbw
Dates: 21st to 24th June (incl.)
Match date: Friday 23rd June
Accommodation: Holiday Inn, Newport
Results:
- Wales 91 fish 4331 fish pts 35 placing pts
- England 48 fish 2255 fish pts 54 placing pts
- Scotland 57 fish 2841 fish pts 55 placing pts
- Ireland 55 fish 2640 fish pts 56 placing pts
‘Moc Morgan’ Trophy: Alan Hill (Scotland) – Top Individual – 29 fish/5 placing pts
‘Mike Childs’ Trophy: Eamon Conway (Ireland) – Biggest Fish – 53.6cms
Congratulations to Wales on a convincing victory.
AT Team England was represented by:
Fred Bainbridge, Jonathan Barnes, Steve Cullen, Andy Ford, Andrew Scott, Harry Fox (reserve), and Jeremy Lucas (manager).
Full Results: iffarivers2017
Manager Jeremy Lucas reports on this event for Fish&Fly here>> and here>>
He also covered Team England’s practice for the event here>>
2016 Rivers Home International
Country: Scotland
Venue: River Don
Dates: 22nd to 25th June (incl)
Match Date: Friday 24th June
Results:
- Scotland (48 fish) 2340 fish points 44 placing points
- Wales (44 fish) 2132 fish points 51 placing points
- England (38 fish) 1944 fish points 52 placing points
- Ireland (26 fish) 1249 fish points 56 placing points
Accommodation: Thainstone House Hotel, Inverurie
Congratulations to Scotland for a decisive victory.
AT Team England FF were represented by: Andrew Scott (captain), Andy Cliffe, Phil Dixon, Chris Richardson, Simon Robinson, Cameron Craigs (reserve), and Mike Tinnion (manager).
Full results: iffarivers2016
RIVERS MATCH 2015
| Country: | IRELAND |
| Venue: | River Liffey |
| Dates: | 24th to 27th June (incl.) |
| Match date: | Friday 26th June |
| Accommodation: | Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge |
1. Ireland (71 fish) 3199 points 43 placings
2. England (54 fish) 2432 points 49 placings
3. Wales (61 fish) 2760 points 50 placings
4. Scotland (32 fish) 1430 points 67 placings
Individual Winner – Peter Doherty (Ireland) 4 placings Moc Morgan Trophy
Biggest Fish – Rob Bending (Wales) 39.5cms Mike Childs Trophy
Full Results: iffarivers2015
RIVERS MATCH 2014
| Country: | ENGLAND |
| Venue: | River Ure |
| Dates: | 25th to 28th June (incl.) |
| Match date: | Friday 27th June |
| Accommodation: | George Hotel, Piercebridge |
1. Wales (61 fish) 2694 points 46 placings
2. England (63 fish) 2686 points 46 placings
3. Scotland (39 fish) 1813 points 55 placings
4. Ireland (35 fish) 1511 points 57 placings
Individual Winner – Andy Cliffe (England) 7 placings Moc Morgan Trophy
Biggest Fish – Derick Logan (Scotland) 42.3cms Mike Childs Trophy
Full Results: iffarivers2014
Peter Godfrey (International President), Mike Tinnion (Manager), Simon Robinson, Lee Bartlett, Robert Brown, Terry Phillips (Captain), Andy Cliffe, John Tyzack & Ian Campbell (IFFA)
AT Team England FF was represented by Robert Brown, Andy Cliffe, Terry Phillips (captain), Simon Robinson, John Tyzack and Lee Bartlett (reserve), with Mike Tinnion (Manager).
Congratulations to Wales on a very close result.
It is a credit to the skills of all the anglers involved that the shrunken River Ure produced an average of just under ten fish per rod on what was one of the most closely fought Home Internationals of recent times, with small nymphs and dry fly the order of the day in the clear, low water. At the end of the four sessions it was too close to call, with England and Wales equal on placing points, so the the result went to ‘fish points’, i.e. the number and length of fish. England had more fish but Wales had some larger ones, and after counting these, England had 2686 points and Wales 2694, with Wales edging the win by the smaller of margins. Individual honour and the Moc Morgan Trophy went to England’s Andy Cliffe with a great performance on his England debut.
Andy Cliffe receives the Moc Morgan trophy from International President Peter Godfrey
England Manager Mike Tinnion reports: “This turned out to be a nail-biting match (especially for a manager on the bank) fished in the very best of sport. The England team fished their hearts out to be pipped at the post by the tiniest of margins. Special thanks also to Lee Bartlett (reserve) for all his work throughout the competition.”
Our thanks to: Bolton Castle Estates for the superb stretch of river; George Hotel, Piercebridge, and Three Horseshoes, Wensley, for accommodation and match day food; the IFFA and the AT TEFF Northern Federation, especially Mr Paul Page, for organising the event; and last but not least, all the controllers/section judges for measuring the fish and ensuring they were safely returned.
RIVER MATCH 2013
| Country: | WALES |
| Venue: | River Taff |
| Dates: | 26th to 29th June (incl.) |
| Match date: | Friday 28th June |
| Accommodation: | Premier Inn, Merthyr Tydfil |
Team
Mike Tinnion (manager)
John Tyzack (captain)
Andy Croucher
Lewis Hendrie
Paul Lee
Andrew Scott
Dave Drake (reserve)
Results
1. Wales 43 fish 2010 points 36 placings
2. England 25 fish 1249 points 55 placings
3. Ireland 20 fish 1031 points 60 placings
4. Scotland 19 fish 907 points 61 placings
Top Individual: Terry Bromwell (Wales) 5 placings
Largest Fish: Terry Bromwell (Wales) 63.4cms
Full Results: 2013 Rivers International – Results
Congratulations to Wales for a convincing victory.
RIVER MATCH 2012
| Country: | SCOTLAND |
| Venue: | River Tay |
| Dates: | 27th to 30th June (incl.) |
| Match date: | Friday 29th June |
| Accommodation: | Scotland’s Hotel, Pitlochry |
Team
Mike Tinnion (manager)
Phil Dixon (captain)
Tony Baldwin
Mike Dixon
Terry Philips
John Tyzack
Scott Nellins (reserve)
Wales put in great performance to cope with a big change in river conditions on the day of the match.
1st Wales 31 fish 1435 pts 43 placings
2nd England 18 fish 829 pts 64 placings
3rd Scotland 9 fish 401 pts 66 placings
4th Ireland 7 fish 330 pts 67 placings
Full Results: iffarivers2012
Report by Mike Tinnion: RIVERS INTERNATIONAL, RIVER TAY, SCOTLAND
RIVER MATCH 2011
| Country: | IRELAND |
| Venue: | River Agivey |
| Dates: | 29th June to 2nd July (incl.) |
| Match date: | Friday 1st July |
| Accommodation: | Bushtown House Hotel, Coleraine |
Team
Mike Tinnion (manager)
Alex Bobba (captain)
Ben Bangham
John Emerson
Graham Lumsden
Scott Nellins
Phil Dixon (reserve)
Results
Ireland 1st, Wales 2nd, England 3rd, Scotland 4th
Report by Mike Tinnion, Manager, Hardy/Greys Team England:
This year’s home international was hosted by Ireland on the River Agivey, a tributary of the Bann. It proved to be the perfect venue for this type of event with lots of wild trout just about everywhere on all of the beats. With heavy showers rolling through all week, the river changed in height every day but still fished extremely well.
Friday, the day of the match, saw the river at probably its lowest level of the week. A tight competition ensued as it often the case. With fifteen minutes of an hour and a half session left on “A” beat in the afternoon, we saw all four anglers with the same number of fish, so one or two fish in the last ten minutes really can make all the difference between that 1st spot and a 4th place.
With Ireland claiming first place, just pipping Wales, this was a popular result on home waters. England also just beating Scotland for 3rd. Kieron Jenkins got a magnificent four 1st placings to take the individual winning place; to crown this he also took the Mike Childs Trophy home with him for the biggest fish.
Once again, this proved to be a fantastic event fished in the true spirit of fly fishing, and with all four nations winning this competition within the last five years, it will be anyone’s match next year when it moves to the mighty Tay in Scotland.
Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing 