ENGLAND’S anglers were the toast of the Riviera Hotel as the 50th FIPS-M World Boat Championships came to a climax in Weymouth.

A brilliant display of angling on the last day of competition saw the England senior team crowned world champions for the first time since 2006.

Colin Searles, Ray Barron, Gary Galbraith, Rolf Marschalek, Cliff Newbold and reserve Mark Smith clinched first place with four boat wins out of five.

It was a joyous return to Weymouth for England after they had been edged out by Italy for the gold medal the last time the championships were held in the seaside town in 2005.

On this occasion, France had to settle for second and Italy were back in third.

And there was a double celebration for Searles as he finished runner-up to Frenchman Matthieu Hervouet in the individual competition.

Meanwhile, in the under-21 championship, England, competing at the Worlds for the first time, came third.

France, in second, got the better of Ryan Casey, Jordan Davis, Aaron Comben, George Fox and Michael Webber on countback, while Italy were the clear winners.

Individually, Davis, who alongside Comben and Casey were competing in their hometown, was third.

Anthony Giacomini of Italy, the European senior champion, emerged victorious on the world stage.

Speaking after an awards presentation at the Riviera, a delighted England team manager Neil Bryant said: “The lads are elated.

“It was an amazing performance on the last day.

“We knew we had to up our game if we wanted to win and the guys did just that.”

He added: “It was a fabulous event and it couldn’t have finished better for the England team.

“Everything went superbly, everyone was really helpful, and in excess of 12,000 fish were caught and returned.

“The championships will now move around Europe and the rest of the world but Weymouth can be considered again in the future if the Angling Trust applies to hold it there.”

Results

Seniors (team): 1 England 939 points, 2 France 935, 3 Italy 770.

Seniors (individual): 1 Matthieu Hervouet (France) 216, 2 Colin Searles (England) 231, 3 Dejan Struna (Slovenia) 184.

Under-21 (team): 1 Italy 762, 2 France 597, 3 England 640.

Under-21 (individual): 1 Anthony Giacomini (Italy) 260, 2 Thomas Claverie (France) 184, 3 Jordan Davis (England) 125.