Center Parcs – supported Team England Masters needed to call upon all their years of experience to keep a firm grip on the McCoig Trophy as a rallying call from Scotland put up a stern fight in the 2012 bout of the annual Anglo-Scottish clash.

The English contingent, featuring 11 debutants, travelled north of the border ready to renew rivalries with the Auld Enemy at the Sportscotland National Training Centre in Inverclyde but their defence of the title looked far from certain as the competitiveness of the early encounters caught them off guard.

In stark contrast to last year’s 21-3 crushing, Team England found themselves on the comeback trail after Scotland established a 6-3 lead following the Over 40s and Over 45s rounds of action.

However, Scotland’s pressure in the younger age was not enough to wrestle the McCoig Trophy from Team England’s grasp.

The English squad – backed by Center Parcs and Yonex - hold a near perfect record on the international scene since the squad has been formed and showed all the resilience that makes them such a force, storming back in comprehensive fashion with 5-0 wins in the Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 65s categories to retain the trophy, 18-6.

Team Manager Debby Rigby said “There were some very close games and well fought contests [here] so to retain the trophy, especially after the surprise of seeing us edge out in the younger age-groups, is really pleasing.

We had many first timers playing and were forced to contend with some early injuries but the whole experience was enjoyable and played in a superb spirit.”

Andy Hines Randle, Competition and Events co-ordinator for BADMINTON England added “The Team England Masters squad have only tasted defeat once before [to hosts Denmark in last year’s Nations Cup] and that impressive record had to withstand a tough challenge here so it is good to come away with the trophy”.