Kent golfer Matthew Haines has received a first ever call up to the England team that will host France in an international match next month.

The 18-year-old, who hails from the Rochester & Cobham club, is one of three newcomers to the England side that will take on the French at Oxfordshire’s Frilford Heath club on May 10th and 11th.

Haines got his recognition for his victory in the won the Under-18 Carris Trophy at Saunton last July, a success that followed his maiden Boy Cap in the European Boys Team Championships in Denmark.

He was also a member of the victorious Boys Home Internationals team and the Great Britain & Ireland side that beat Europe in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.

The 2007 winner of the Peter McEvoy Trophy, Haines was also a member of the winning England team in the Honda International Junior Championship in Japan and was included in this year’s England A Squad.

"We have three newcomers but this is a strong team and if we get the rub of the green we should be able to record another win," says England Captain Jonathan Plaxton.

"The French will also be strong. They reached the final of the European Championship last year so we are expecting a tough match."