SCOTT Gregory proudly wore the cross of St George on his England debut and helped repel a French fightback that threatened to derail his team-mates on the Lancashire links at Formby last weekend.

England ran out the victors by 14 points to 10 after two days of foursomes and singles, but it required some strong nerve, as well as some mightily impressive skill from both sides before the hosts could claim the spoils with another superb showing in the Sunday singles.

The players were certainly inspired by a good luck message sent from Masters champion Danny Willett, who played in the France fixture back in 2009 before turning pro.

Gregory was picked to partner Somerset’s Josh Hilleard in the foursomes.

And the pair, who both started the season in the England A squad, got off to a fast start beating highly regarded Ko Jeong-Weon, playing with Adrien Pendaries in the final match of the first morning, which turned into a birdie fest.

The Corhampton member holed a 30-footer on the 12th for a three but the French made a three on the 15th after hitting two drives into a gorse bush.

The visitors found the first ball and cheekily chipped it out before holing an approach shot from 120 yards for a birdie when they were looking at racking up a big number if the first had been declared lost.

England made a solid 10-footer for a half on the 16th to retain their two-hole lead only for the French to eagle the 17th. Gregory could only applaud and thank Hilleard, who promptly hit his approach into the last to seven feet to seal their point.

England went into lunch trailing by a point after they lost the top two matches.

That point was a turning point in terms of momentum as England went up in the first three singles games.

Hilleard already has four wins under his belt with the domestic amateur season barely six weeks old, claiming the Hampshire Salver for the best score in Blackmoor Golf Club’s Selborne Salver and Hampshire Hog at North Hants, last month.

And he thumped French Strokeplay Champion Jeon-Weon 8&7 in the penultimate game of the day. But behind him Gregory was already five down after the turn to Ugo Coussaud – even though he had covered the front nine in level par.

But the 21-year-old, who was barely a regular on the Hampshire men’s team sheet three years ago, showed why he reached the Spanish Amateur Final in Seville, in March, with a stirring comeback.

He holed his 55-yard pitch on the 11th for a birdie three and began clawing back the deficit as they entered the tricky part of the course where Sam Hutsby lost in the final of the British Amateur to Italy’s Matteo Manassero in 2009.

Some solid pars on the tricky holes saw Gregory cut the deficit to two as he took on the par five 17th. A fine second left Scott with a 12-footer for eagle to take the match down the last but the putt lipped out and he was forced to shake Coussaud’s hand for his first defeat in a full international.

Gregory had already been on a winning England team in the Costa Ballena Quadrangular match in Cadiz back in January, but this was a step up in class as both sides made light of Formby’s reputation as one of the North West’s best links courses.

England manager Kevin Tucker managed Gregory during his first season in the England set up last year as an A squad member, after he reached the English Amateur final at Saunton, in 2014.

And he had no hesitation sending out Hilleard, winner of the West of England Amateur Championship at Royal North Devon, last month, with the Hampshire man again.

This time they drew Coussaud, who had been paired with Pendaries, and birdies were the order of the day again with the match evenly poised at 6-6 going into the Sunday morning foursomes.

The points in the top two matches were shared with a win each and England’s pairing of Ashton Turner and James Walker, winner of the Selborne Salver, were going well in the match in front.

Gregory, who finished fourth in last year’s European Amateur Championship, hit a three-wood on the third hole from 290 yards to a back-right pin, leaving his partner with a relatively simple six-footer for a three to get back to all-square.

Scott drove through the green on the fourth but he and Hilleard got up and down for birdie to go one up. Coussaud was not to be outdone and hit his tee shot to within an inch of an ace on the par three fifth and Gregory misread his 10-footer for a half.

England then took the next two holes with a birdie and a par, only to produce some scruffy golf to leave the game all-square at the turn.

Hilleard, who also won the Berkhamsted Trophy in April, holed from 27 feet for a birdie on the 11th and a mistake by the French left them two down on the 12th.

Even though the English pair lost the 14th another good up and down after Hilleard hit the pin restored the two-hole advantage.

It took a nine-footer converted by Scott to stay two up on the 16th and a conservative play with a two-iron off the tee on the par five 17th saw them home by a 3&1 margin.

It gave England a two-point lead at lunch on the final day, the second time the pair had given their team-mates some momentum but there was still plenty of golf left in the biennial match, which dates back to 1934.

With the top two matches tied, England were just in front in three of the bottom four matches after Jamie Bower lost 7&5 while Ashton Turner won 7&6 to leave the score at 11-9 to the hosts.

Lancashire’s Paul Kinnear – playing on his home course – and Walker both won by one hole but Hilleard was losing for the first time against Edgar Catherine.

The fact that Gregory was sent out last just behind the West Countryman showed the faith Tucker had in the pairing and Gregory was delighted to be facing Coussaud again.

After the Frenchman edged in front on the first, Gregory dialled in his three wood again on the third, this time from 270 yards only to see his eagle putt lip out from 20 feet.

He still took the hole to level the match but after a birdie from his opponent on seven, Gregory watched his putt agonisingly miss by millimetres. The ball did drop kindly after Scott was in trouble on the par five eighth but he dug out his ball from deep rough 50 yards short of the green before sinking his 12-foot putt for a four with his opponent already on the green in two.

That was good enough for a half and he halved the ninth with an eight-footer as the tension grew.

The 10th went to the Hampshire ace with a two-putt par and he needed to hole another six-footer for par to halve the 12th.

A birdie from 12-feet on the 13th and 14 feet on the 14th finally put Gregory in the driving seat with a two-hole lead.

On the 15th, Ugo went for broke off the tee and had just 120 yards left while Gregory was 198 yards out after playing safe with a two-iron to the widest part of the fairway.

Gregory then produced a low draw with his four-iron which nestled a foot from the hole to extend that lead to three.

He just needed to make a six-footer at the next to claim the point but with the half already guaranteed, the putt horseshoed out leaving the Frenchman needing to win the last two holes to prevent Gregory gaining revenge for Saturday’s slip up.

Again, he took two-iron off the tee on the par five, leaving a 255-yard four iron into the green. Coussaud found sand with his drive and when his third missed the green, he conceded the hole and the match after his birdie attempt missed with Gregory some 35 feet from the hole.

The last Hampshire player to feature in an England shirt was also a Corhampton man in the shape of Walker Cup player Neil Raymond, who made his debut Down Under in Australia in 2011, before sealing his place in the England set up with victory in the Brabazon Trophy that summer.