King Bowl Tournament 2022

The Manchester Titans Mixed and Women's Flag Team returned to the King Bowl Tournament in Utrecht, Netherlands, after a two-year absence due to Covid. In 2019, the Women's Team came in second following some dubious additions to the victorious home team's final squad, while the Mixed Team came in fifth. Expectations were much lower for this year’s King Bowl due to the size and experience of the squads travelling.

The Women's squad struggled at first without its star quarterback Sarah Ul-Haq and numerous other key players, losing their first four games. They did, however, lose 18-13 to the eventual Champions Domzale Tigers before winning 13-0 over the University of Nottingham Green in their final game of the day. They carried this momentum into the playoffs on Sunday, defeating U of N Gold 12-0, U of N Green 30-0, and lastly Utrecht Dominators 28-6 for a respectable 9th place finish.

Meanwhile, the Mixed Team started off strong with four straight victories before falling to the SWC Dragons 18-15 in a tough game. The Titans lost their final game of the day, 33-19, to the Hague Hygenas, finishing second in the division.

On Sunday, the Titans played the Dunfermline Kings, and after a 14-14 halftime deadlock, the Titans swept away the Kings in the second half to win 31-14 and guarantee a top four finish. However, they were met by the defending champion London Smoke, who defeated the Titans. The Titans finished fourth after a lacklustre showing in the Bronze place game, while the Smoke went on to defeat the Cardiff Hurricanes in the all-British Final. In reality, four British teams finished in the top five in a well-organized event.

The Titans are set to return in 2023 to attempt to claim the King Bowl!

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