Fours Head never fails to bring excitement to winter head racing, and the volatility of coxless fours only adds to this. Covering the whole Championship Course, it will be a true indication of how programmes are shaping up for this year’s season.
Radley College Boat Club
Always a force to be reckoned with, Radley College come to Fours Head off the back of a very successful 2022/2023 season, coming 4th at National Schools’ and making the semi-finals at Henley Royal Regatta. Rawlinson and Gray-Cheape bring much-needed experience to this crew, having both represented GB this summer, and Rawlinson returning as a junior world champion. I think they have a real chance to produce a repeat of last year, where they managed to blow apart the coxless fours event, winning by 23s.
Latymer Upper School Boat Club
Latymer are a strong entry this year, following last year’s second-place finish. With all four members of the boat having been in the first eight last year, they have the potential to produce a good result here. Given this race is on their home water, and this boat dominated back in their J16 days, Latymer could definitely be gunning for the win.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
Having dominated the Pairs Head and Scullers’ Head, as well as a phenomenal result at the Head of the Charles Regatta over the pond, the SPS programme is living up to its historical renown, putting the club in a very strong position as they head towards the winter training block. Hiorns comes to race in the senior squad as a member of last year’s successful J16 8+ which won Schools’ Head, and came second to a strong Eton eight at National School’s. He is joined by Atkinson, Bennison and Harker, J18s who bring a wealth of experience to the boat. Combined I think that this boat could achieve a surprise result this weekend.
King’s College School Boat Club
Wanting to reproduce the result from 2021, KCS will be eager to prove a point this weekend, particularly after an absence from Pairs Head. Since the Tideway is their home water they should be able to exploit the stream for the quickest time, over crews that potentially won’t be able to. Monaghan will be leading this crew down the track, having stroked the first 8+ last year as a J16 at NSR and HRR, achieving solid results at both, and more recently coming seventh at HOCR. King’s College could cause an upset as they look to bring home a win.
Other Entries
Eton College, Hampton and Bedford are all fielding crews too and will be aiming to prove a point and make their mark in these early races, but I don’t think they have the same pedigree as the other previously mentioned crews – especially in such a tough boat class.
Predictions
- Radley College Boat Club
- King’s College School Boat Club
- Latymer Upper School Boat Club
Looking at results from this season and the last, Radley seem the strongest coming into Sunday so I put my money on them. However, what makes this particular set of entries so interesting is that KCS and Latymer, Tideway-based clubs in the recent past, both have a history in the recent past of strong performances at Fours Head, which means it would be unwise to completely count them out. While it may seem unusual to discount an SPS crew, this being their third boat explains that to an extent. Nonetheless, the strength of their programme and the tenacity of their athletes means they might just surprise us all.
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