The English Shinty Team is the team selected to represent The English Shinty Association and the sport of shinty in England.[1] It has competed at International level against the United States and Alba, and also competes in Scottish cup competitions at club level.
History
The English Shinty Team was formed along with the English Shinty Association in 2013 to represent the association in fixtures.
They took on the USA in what was dubbed as the first ever Shinty International at St Andrews in 2013, winning 2–0.[2]
Since then, The English Shinty Team have entered the Bullough Cup annually and played friendly matches when possible as noted below.
Eligibility Criteria
Players are generally considered eligible to play for the ESA team if they are registered with one of the shinty clubs based in England and not playing with any other club at the time. Most of the players are permanently resident in England, but there have been cases of players who have a historical link with England (often by birth or long residency in the country) and are not registered with another club registering and joining the team for matches.
Easter Tour 2019
19 April 2019 Friendly ESA vs Uddingston 6-1 Capt James Livingstone ESA Scorers Livingstone x2, Hopkins, Holley x2, Soane
20 April 2019 Friendly ESA vs St Andrews Uni 12-2 Capt Matt Mossop ESA Scorers Soane x7, Mossop x3, Hopkins, Holley
21 April 2019 International Challenge England v Scottish Universities Select 7-10 England Scorers Soane x3, Mossop x2, Hopkins, Holley[3]
4 May 2019
Bullough Cup
ESA vs Ballachulish Camanachd Club 2nd team
4-2
Matt Mossop
Christopher Holley x2, James Livingstone x2
15 June 2019
Bullough Cup (2nd round)
Lochside Rovers vs ESA
6-2
Matt Mossop
James Livingstone
22 February 2020
Friendly
Tayforth vs ESA
5-1
Matt Mossop
Christopher Holley
20 June 2021
Bullough Cup
Kilmory Camanachd vs ESA
5-0
David Mclean
30 April 2022
Bullough Cup
Kilmory Camanachd vs ESA
5-0
Barra de Burca
In popular culture
The song "When you hear the lions' roar" is an ode to the English Shinty Team and makes reference to the dying out of shinty in England and its replacement with hockey. It also makes reference to England's history and the difficulty some Scottish players have playing for the team.[4]
