Schedule - Sunday 26 May, Macclesfield Rugby Club, SK10 4AE.

12:45 Mixed Final - Oxford City x London City Panthers
14:30 Women’s Final - Blues x Oxton
16:15 Men’s Final – Heaton Mersey x Hampstead

Sunday sees the crowning of our 2024 English champions with the annual National Club Finals featuring our league champions from across the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed games in competition at Macclesfield Rugby Club.

The three matches represent the culmination of the domestic club season as the top teams from our regions across the three formats go head to head for national bragging rights.

Of course, the prize at stake for our Men’s and Women’s winners is not only the title of English National champions, but a coveted place at the European Club Championships, Ken Galluccio Cup, taking place in Barcelona once again for 2024.

In the Women’s final, Blues have tasted success at both the National Club Finals and the Ken Galluccio Cup for the last two years, victors in 2022 & 23, and are back again to look to defend those titles in a repeat of last year’s final against Wirral-based Oxton.

Blues won the South East Women’s League again this season, registering only one defeat across the 2023/24 campaign and scoring over 200 goals, continuing their dominant reign over the region.

Oxton meanwhile were pushed all the way to the Women’s North League title by last year’s winners Stockport, both teams finishing with identical 16-2 win-loss records in the league; Oxton coming out on top by virtue of their away goals scored record.

The Blues side features a number of current and former England internationals with Claire Faram and Emilie Chandler leading the charges alongside Alex Drewe and Bex Jordache, as well as Japanese international Miho Sakurai.

They will prove hard to beat as they showed last year, although Oxton are former National and European champions themselves and have their own experience that should prove good competition.

Ellie Simpson and Anna Boyne have both played for England at various levels, and Alex Stephenson (formerly Bruce) who has played for England at the 2013 World Championships are all in the Oxton squad, along with a number of younger players, many of whom play at current National Schools Champions, Moreton Hall.

In the men’s final, Hampstead are back to attempt to retain their National title after last year’s victory against Stockport after posting a 100% record in the main SEMLA Premier Division competition.

Heaton Mersey are their opponents for 2024 after a commanding year, losing just once across the 14-game NEMLA league campaign before ending up runner-up in April’s Flags Final against Stockport.

Hampstead as always bring an international flavour to proceedings, featuring past England internationals Zac Guy and Will Hardy, Australians Will Pickett and Thomas Graham, not to mention Owen Caputo, a goalscorer in last year’s NCAA Championship game for Duke.

Heaton Mersey’s roster looks no less impressive, with a number of England international representatives to draw on this Sunday.

Ryan Hunns, Josh Hurry, Pete Hayes and Andy Ellison all have Senior Field World Championship experience with England, Ming Trinh will head out the Box Worlds in September, and a number of the younger players feature throughout the junior international setup.

Our Mixed Final was due to be a third consecutive meeting between two-time winners Cambridge University and Oxford City; however, the university side are unable to field a team for Sunday and as a result their place has gone to their semi-final opponents London City Panthers who were originally defeated 7-6.

That does mean we will have a new name to add to the National Mixed Championship trophy, with Oxford City looking to finally go one better after narrowly beating Cambridge City 13-12 in their semi-final.

It is the third year of the Mixed Lacrosse final being incorporated into the National Club Finals as part of the wider National mixed league structure, and following on from the tight semi-finals, we should be set for a cracker of a game to begin our Finals Day.

Macclesfield Rugby Club is open for all to attend National Finals, with free entry and car parking available at the venue. The Club bar and café will also be open with hot and cold options available throughout the day.