The Riverview Gold Cup divides opinions. Some argue that a 1400m river race at the height of racing season bears no relevance and can’t possibly be a true test of speed. Others, such as myself, would argue that contending with steering, pleasure craft, wind, and tide is the ultimate test of a crew. This is the purest form of racing available to Australian crews.
For those unfamiliar, the Gold Cup course spans 1400m upstream on the Lane Cove River. At the 1000m mark, the course turns roughly 30 degrees to the left. As such, crews in lanes one and two are permitted to steer on the inside of a steering buoy in the centre of the course, whilst lanes three to five must steer around it. These lanes are started approximately one length ahead of one and two to compensate. The course is lined with pleasure craft and coaching boats, many of whom are leaving at the conclusion of the school’s racing, making the open eights a wild and unpredictable battle.
UTS Haberfield
The reigning champions in this event, UTS Haberfield, will arrive at the Lane Cove River with some confidence given their performance at last weekend’s NSW Championships; however not securing the Q.L. Deloitte trophy will have left doubt in the minds of some. UTS has entered two eights in this year’s event, with the first eight coxed by Anna O’Hanlon, and the second eight by her father, Terry. The first eight entered is almost identical to that which led Sydney for 1500m of the championship elite eight race last weekend and will be buoyed by the fact that they have speed out of the blocks, a key attribute on the 1400m dog-legged course. UTS will also draw confidence from their knowledge of the course, not only do they regularly make the journey over to Lane Cove in training, but have Old Ignatians Mackenzie Thompson and Oscar Beregi on board. Coupled with a cox that steered a winning course last year, the boys in teal present a formidable opponent for all that line up next to them on Saturday.
Sydney Rowing Club
Fresh off the back of a dominant state championships performance last weekend, Sydney Rowing Club will feel the weight of the targets on their backs on Saturday afternoon. After fielding two very closely matched eights last year, SRC have gone two steps further in 2025, entering four men’s eights to contest the Gold Cup. Given the time-based progression system (five fastest crews to the final), we’re unlikely to see a sky-blue armada come 3:28 pm; however, it is an impressive display of depth nonetheless. Sydney will surely see themselves as the favourites for this race, given their performance last weekend, and rightfully so. The only change from the eight who took victory in Penrith is the addition of Harry Crouch for fellow Old Newingtonian Alex Nichol as he returns to Canberra. The primary question mark over this combination will be their speed out of the blocks, which saw them trailing UTS by three seconds at the 500m last weekend. Given that eight was a newer combination, I’d expect this gap to be narrowed after another week of preparation. Coxswain Tess Harris has won this event twice, as well as steering a great second eights race in 2021. Given the experience in this boat, I’d expect them to be right in contention for the win.
Sydney University Boat Club
After not entering an eight in last weekend’s quest for the Q.L Deloitte, Sydney University Boat Club are back in the mix this weekend. Their Gold Cup combination consists mainly of the U21 eight that finished third in that event at the State Titles, with the only changes being Alex Page and William Fuller in for Charlie Baker and Trephon Stambolie. The crew will be stroked by Junior Single Scull representative Will Rogers, who has proven in the small boat the first-kilometre pace needed to stroke a Gold Cup crew. Adding Will Raven on the strings will prove vital, bringing the experience of winning this event three times in the eight and once in a coxed four. This eight was much closer to the pace of the leading U21 crews than many expected last weekend, and with a week of work under the guidance of Simon Huxley, they should be considered a dark horse at this regatta.
St Ignatius College
Despite the fact that no school crew has won this event since the imperious 2001 King’s School crew, expect St Ignatius College to feature prominently in this contest. The boys from Riverview have been dominant this season, winning every race they’ve entered by clear water, including the State Championship last weekend. There’s no question that this crew has the speed to compete with the club crews, having posted a 5:50 in dead conditions just a few weeks ago. The home advantage cannot be understated here either. A crowded makeshift boat park on the school’s oval and a long walk down to the water can make for a chaotic regatta, something Riverview will not have to contend with. Although I don’t think a win is quite in reach, I’d expect St Ignatius to stop a few club crews progressing to the final and, if drawn a favourable lane, maybe prevent another from fighting at the front.
Prediction
This race is possibly the hardest to predict on the domestic calendar. Wind, tide, steering, lane draw, and wash all come into play over the 1400m dog-leg course, and as such, we’ve seen multiple protests and re-rows over the past decade. With how closely matched this event will be, I’d expect fireworks.
For me, it comes down to two crews. Sydney and UTS. UTS will be drawing a lot of confidence from their first 1500m last weekend, whilst Sydney are riding a high of club-wide success in recent months. The extra week of fine-tuning for a crew that was a scratch combination last week should see Sydney find some extra speed in the opening exchanges – setting them up for a win but expect UTS to fight them all the way.
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