GB HEAD TO FRANCE

The national side go to Macon, France this Saturday up against Poland, Denmark and the hosts.

It’s a tough task for the inexperienced GB squad of Leon Flint, Dan Thompson, Sam Hagon, Jake Mulford and Luke Harrison.

But Vatcher has faith in his young guns. He said: “As always in these big European events, we go there to get a medal.

“We are starting around a decade behind some nations in youth development but we are catching up fast.

“First and foremost we are now consistently reaching finals and creating a platform to go on and win medals. We weren’t doing that 10 years ago.

“The boys did a wonderful job to qualify in Germany on a difficult afternoon.

“This is a relatively untried bunch of lads at this level. But this is exactly why we want to proceed in these European competitions. The boys need experience in big-time events.

“To be fair, all the lads have excelled this season in the UK. Leon and Dan have been sensational for their clubs in both in the Premiership and Championship.

“Sam retained his British Under-21 title while Jake and Luke have improved massively.

“We know this is a big step-up for them. But I do have confidence in this generation to get results. It will need a huge performance.

“The point is they learn so much and I believe that benefits their racing greatly when they get back to their UK clubs.

“We know how difficult the opposition will be in Macon. Our lads will have to get dialled in very quickly. No last places is always the key in these types of formats.

“I’m excited to see how the boys adapt and apply themselves to a very difficult challenge.”