England Clinch European Double Over Germany

The future of English squash is in good hands following the England's double victory over hosts Germany in the finals of the European Junior U15 Team Championship and European Junior U17 Team Championship in the southern German town of Boblingen.

Defending champions and top seeds in the U17 event, England beat the second-seeded German team 2-1 in the final - while in the U15 event, England first had to overcome fellow 2/3 seeds France in the semi-finals before striking a notable upset over the top-seeded hosts in the final.

England's heroine in the U15 final was Jane Allman, the England U15 No1 from Epsom in Surrey. Beaten in a hard five-game encounter in the previous day's semi-finals, 14-year-old Allman bravely fought back from 1/2 down in games, and 4-7 down in the fourth game, to beat her higher-ranked German opponent Sharon Sinclair 9-0 6-9 3-9 9-7 9-4 in 56 minutes to clinch the title for England.

Earlier Alex Ingham, 14, from Weybridge in Surrey, had put the team into the lead with an impressive 9-5 9-5 2-9 9-3 win over the German No1 Raphael Kandra - before Germany gained a consolation point in the best-of-three 'dead rubber' when the England team captain Chris Fuller, 14, from Kettering, was pipped 9-6 5-9 9-8 by Rudi Rohrmuller in 48 minutes. It was only 24 hours earlier that Fuller, the England No2, played a 'captain's innings' when he secured the team's place in the final with a four-game win over his French opponent in the semi-final decider.

England reached the final of the U17 event without dropping a match, but were severely tested by a German team eager to provide the packed and partisan crowd with a long-awaited victory after losses to their rivals in the previous two finals. Team No1 Jim Bristow, 16, from Stone-in-Teignhead in Devon, had to be at his best to overcome a strong German No1 Norman Junge - in the third game having 12 game-balls before clinching the game, and ultimately the match 6-9 9-2 9-5 9-1 in 67 minutes.

Making her seventh appearance in different events for England was Sussex 16-year-old Rachel Willmott who clinched the title for the team with a confident and comprehensive 9-1 9-0 9-1 win in just 16 minutes over the hitherto unbeaten German girl Sina Wall. Willmott, the England captain from Horsham, enjoyed a magnificent tournament in Boblingen, conceding only ten points in three successive match victories from the quarter-final stage.

In the final best-of-three rubber, Surrey 15-year-old Joe Lee, from West Molesey, battled for 50 minutes against German Carsten Schoor - and had a match-ball in the decider - before going down 9-3 4-9 10-9.

"Both teams put in very professional and disciplined performances, they all played at the peak of their abilities, but we had to work hard for both victories," said team coach Annette Pilling. "We had the luxury of evenly-matched players in both squads and were fortunate that all the players were fit throughout the event, so we were able to put out fresh players for each tie."

U15 Final:
[2/3] ENGLAND bt [1] GERMANY 2-1
Jane Allman bt Sharon Sinclair 9-0, 6-9, 3-9, 9-7, 9-4 (56m)
Alex Ingham bt Raphael Kandra 9-5, 9-5, 2-9, 9-3 (47m)
Chris Fuller lost to Rudi Rohrmuller 6-9, 9-5, 8-9 (48m)

U17 Final:
[1] ENGLAND bt [2] GERMANY 2-1
Rachel Willmott bt Sina Wall 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 (16m)
Jim Bristow bt Norman Junge 6-9, 9-2, 9-5, 9-1 (67m)
Joe Lee lost to Carsten Schoor 3-9, 9-4, 9-10 (50m)