BRILLIANT BARNSLEY WIN SENSAS CHALLENGE 2025

It’s already been a winning start to 2025 for the mighty Drennan Barnsley Blacks side and that run continued in this year’s Angling Trust Sensas Challenge on the Gloucester Canal with top spot for the A team – by just half a point from their B side!

Fished across two days to international rules, 33 teams of five anglers took part this year with the added incentive of a place in this Summer’s World Club Championships in Ireland for the winners. It was a spot duly snapped up by the recent Angling Trust Winter League champions with a 22.5-point score.

Fielding a side of England stars Matt Godfrey, James Dent and Frankie Gianoncelli, plus Under 25 ace Josh Newman and Feeder team member and captain Lee Kerry, Barnsley ended day one in fourth spot on 13 points, just four points adrift of leaders Sensas Starlets C.

Things clicked on day two however, with a superb 9.5 points to leapfrog those ahead of them and win the match. Section wins for Matt and James, backed up by second for Lee and Frankie and a 3.5-point score for Josh did the damage.

Incredibly, their B team of Gav Leversidge, Tom Noton, Tom Barlow, Nicky Crooks and Oli Scotthorne were just as consistent, scoring 10 points on day one and 13 on Sunday, to finish in second overall. However, as captain Lee explained, the match was not about the A and B teams as separate entities.

 “We treat this event as a 10-man competition,” he said. “We practice together, stay together, share information and winnings and work as one team. After day one we were confident of improving and winning but felt we’d not quite got a few things right and made little tweaks. It also helped that we got the same set of pegs on day two that the B team had on day one, so the information flowing between the lads was brilliant.”

“With the prize of the World Club Champs place for the winners, I think it made us focus and try even harder,” he continued. “We set out standards high and go out to win everything we enter. With the World Clubs being in Ireland, it means fishing we’re very familiar with in conditions we are used too, plus having more boots on the bank to help. We can’t wait!”

The success didn’t end on the team front either, with several of both sides featuring in the top 10 individual frame, including overall winner James. He finished on a perfect two section wins, getting the nod on total weight ahead of French Sensas 28 star Emmanuel Gouilleux by 9-925 to 6-050. Third spot went to local Sensas Lobby’s Tackle man Gareth Evans with three points after drawing adjacent pegs on the famed Hempsted Bend on both days!

* LOOK OUT FOR OUR EXCLUSIVE HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL SOON – https://www.youtube.com/@anglingtrustcompetitions