Fours Head is a gruelling 6.8km race, at least on the junior level acting mainly as a premonition of who has the potential to show form 6 months later at Henley Royal. But for those who fly too close to the sun, it might give a false sense of security over the winter season leading them into summer racing. While the coxless four has arguably been the weaker of the two events, most schools putting their heavy hitters in the coxed four, this year might be a changing of the guard, with Shiplake, Radley, and KCS prioritising the more technical and refined boat.
Radley
Coming into the season, Radley is in a brilliant position. After their tearing up of the pre-Henley formbook, losing a close and disputed final to St Paul’s, and winning J16 first and second eights, they come in without any big names, but with an unparalleled squad depth. To be honest, this four could be any combination of their top 12 oarsmen and have a shot at a victory, but with returners from last year’s crew such as Jones, fresh of a solid showing at Wallingford Head and an appearance in a Coupe eight that put up a frankly ridiculous 5:41 time, this will be a special boat, and one at the core of whatever eight they debut in the spring.
Shiplake
There’s something arguably underwhelming about Shiplake’s recent performances. Don’t get me wrong, their boats are technically near-flawless, and their Schools Head winning streak is the envy of the junior circuit, but there’s a sense of average-ness to their eventual crews, settling at the lower middle of the A final with the likes of Westminster, Radley and Shrewsbury. Could this year change that? This top Shiplake boat, comprised of Coupe stalwarts like Middleton, not to mention their latest batch of imports, has a real boat-moving pedigree and international talent. The classic Shiplake fast start, trained for with weekly high-intensity RP3 intervals, will give them a clear psychological advantage, especially going off first, and there’s a good chance it’ll settle the race by halfway and leave Radley likely with a huge gap to close.
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury went from laughing-stocks with oddly shaped blades to a force to be reckoned with over the course of last year, culminating in a highly controversial triumph over a touted Westminster crew. With the departure of Sam Grant to Latymer, the question remains whether their run of form will continue, but I’m sceptical their aggressive style of rowing will translate to the coxless four. One issue to consider is how much the length of their home river, just 1.3k, will affect their form in a long-distance race and prepare them for the vicissitudes of the Tideway and the brutal final straight home.
King’s College Wimbledon
Rising from the farmers league of the Child Beale, the evolution of KCS Wimbledon has been one of the defining arcs of the last decade of schoolboy rowing, ending in the tragic defeat of the 2022 crew. While that crew was less than the sum of its parts, this year the opposite may be true, with the South London squadron back in business, led by the US-bound talents of Scowen and Corbett, fresh from a strong showing at Pairs and Scullers Heads. While they’ve claimed a return to the matched fours of last year that led to two wins (albeit with Shiplake, Teddies, Eton and Westminster in other categories), this is obviously their top boat, with some young blood filling the two other seats. While I’m not sure I believe in this crew challenging Radley, Scowen’s relentless rhythm will give them an outside shot, and I expect them to be rating in the mid-30s the whole way down their home water of the Thames.
Latymer
Rounding off the true contenders we have Latymer, more famous for their Henley-winning women’s program, but with an exceptional J17 year group that came a close second at National Schools’ and made up the GB France four and which thrusts them into the pinnacle of this event. Latymer rely more on grit and tenacity than finesse, and this crew is powered by Wild, last year’s top J16 in the country and a shoo-in for this year’s world’s four confirming that status after a top-10 finish at trials.
Other Contenders
Rounding out the list of crews are three entries from St Paul’s, and for a club that boldly declared themselves PE favourites, the hype-train might begin to chug along if any of these second and third boats challenge the likes of KCS and Radley. St Edward’s and Dulwich both have boats in the event, the former rebuilding after their Wednesday implosion against their local rivals Radley and the latter one of the better second-tier rowing schools, but both don’t have the depth to challenge outside their few top athletes in the coxed four.
Predictions
I think this could go one of two ways: either a close field between the top 6 (including the top St Paul’s crew) or Radley absolutely running away with it and cementing themselves as the country’s top program, in line for a dominant triple. I’m going to go for Radley to win by a close margin, followed by Shiplake, KCS, Shrewsbury, St Pauls, then Latymer, with the rest of the top 10 filled by the likes of Emmanuel, Teddies, and another Radley or Pauls crew.
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