Fours Head sits in a unique place within the British Rowing calendar. Whether it’s a peak at the end of a long autumn head racing season or the first major goal after a long preseason training block it sits at the right spot to offer some high quality racing. So too for various sizes of men’s club squads you can split your eight into smaller boats before the spring or for smaller clubs this will be the biggest head race on the long build to the Britannia Challenge Cup at the end of June. The Open Club Coxed Fours will have all sorts of crews with these backgrounds and many others all taking to the Championship Course to test their mettle against the best club rowers in the UK, plus one boat from Germany.
London RC
By virtue of their win in this category last year, London lead off the pack for this instalment, they have had a very successful start to the new season taking both the Pairs and Scullers’ headship so far this autumn. These athletes sit further down the pecking order, however, and they will be hoping that this culture of success has permeated throughout their Putney Boathouse. This four, while retaining no elements from the boat than won last year, will look to match its successes, having plenty experience on the Championship Course, training there each day.
Thames RC
Another Tideway club, Thames have in recent years come to dominate men’s club rowing in the UK. With their sixteen rowers who made it to finals day at Henley Royal this year blocked and forced into the championship categories, Thames have drawn this boat largely from last year’s second and third eights who both made it to halfway in the Thames Challenge Cup. This crew, training under the team of Head Coach Sander Smulders, is one of only fours racing this year from the Thames men’s squad who haven’t raced this event since 2019, when they finished second fastest in the coxed fours.
Molesey BC
Fastest that day, Molesey have been consistently strong in this event, finishing second in 2021. This year they have boated another strong crew including the only trialist on the provisional crew lists. They do not have the same form record on the Tideway as their downstream neighbours as the Molesey senior squad missed both Pairs and Scullers’ Head this year. Even still, this talented foursome, provisionally steered by a former U23 international, should be keen to demonstrate their speed on the 6.8km course.
Taurus BC
As the Oxford Brookes alumni club, Taurus BC is graced with some very high-quality rowers. While the club status of this event excludes those who’ve raced on Henley Saturday for the past three years and thus those immediately stepping out of a top Brookes boat, this line up looks set to be very high quality. Between those listed on the provisional entry list there are at least three age-group world championship selections, and while it may have been some time since they were racing in maroon, they remain a potent force in British Rowing.
Royal Chester BC
Coming from further north is Royal Chester. Training on the Dee, they have achieved a good history of results in the national races down south, making it through a round at Henley this year and consistently qualifying an eight. This season has started promisingly with a good selection of results at their local head races but no events with a massive entry, so this will be the first true test of their mettle. They have two entries in this event so definitely mean business and will be hoping for a good result after their four hour journey down to Putney.
Deutcher Ruder-Club von 1884
For the second year in a row this Hamburg based club are the only overseas boat in the whole head with three rowers and the cox returning from the boat that came fourth in this event last year. It also has some familiar elements from the boat which made the trip to Henley Royal for the Britannia Challenge Cup, falling in the first round to a crew from London RC. With overseas crews always being an unknown entity, they will hope that an extra year’s training will allow them to improve on last year’s performance as many of the athletes who got the better of them twelve months ago are not present in the category this time round.
Prediction
With club athletes having a lot more freedom to move than students or junior rowers, how these squads have faired relative to one and other remains to become clear, but my best guess is that the speed shown by the top end of London Rowing Club’s squad will translate down to this level, helping them to retain their title. So too is Thames Rowing Club’s draw from extensive recent successes will keep their squad speedy enough to claim second. While my pick for third goes to the pedigree in the Taurus boat. However, at this stage in the season and with 31 entries, surprises and upsets are almost certain.
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