Is there room for God in a determinist universe? Last weekend, as the north wind struck Boston for the second time this year, the GB selectors aimed to test this hypothesis, replacing the anarchy of the old (2 times 5k) regime with a pairs matrix, three runs down a perfectly straight 3k course aiming to sort the wheat from the chaff, and pin down the fastest sweepers in the country. When the dust settled and the trailers left Peterborough service station on Sunday afternoon, both nothing, and everything, had changed.
The old king is dead, long live the king.
If you’d asked me to make some predictions before the first run on who’d be in the A matrix, I’d have probably picked the two clear standouts (Peel and Middleton, and Peerless and Wolfensberger), and then any number of PE-contending top pairs. The shock of the week was Schlottman and James from Llandaff Rowing Club barely 2 seconds off the winners, with the three aforementioned pairs in a different stratosphere. Nobody could break into the A matrix’s stranglehold on the medals in the next two runs, Peel and Middleton taking one apiece, with Wolfensberger and Peerless respectively. Beyond that, February trials marked the resurgence of the “coup achter” (U19 Coup de la Jeunesse GB Eight), their band of brothers stepping up into the big leagues and cementing themselves as favourites to be aboard that hallowed train to Paris.
In lieu of running through all hundred or so runs, what’d make the most sense is to go through the top performers on each side and (maybe most importantly) what it all means for the regular season.
Middleton, Strokeside
The latest in one of junior rowing’s great dynasties, Middleton looks to be the country’s top strokesider, and continues his unbeaten streak for GB this year, his only blemish a second-place second run. With an obscene erg for a lightweight and the silk to match, Middleton looks like the potential core of a dominant Shiplake eight, which demolished Teddies and Eton at Reading Head. This year sees a new Middleton, larger, stronger, and less prone to the swings in form he faced last season, and should see him stroking either the four or the eight en route to domestic and international glories.
Peel, Bowside
Peel needs little introduction, having emerged in Westminster’s weekend-reaching 2021 boat and being the sole returner from last year’s junior eight. However, what last weekend proved was that he’s more than an erg monkey, his consecutive wins silencing any opposition. While Peel remains a polarising figure, this yet does not place Westminster as a domestic threat, he seems to turn up and deliver for his country, and that form should see him through the next stages of the trials process.
Peerless and Wolfensberger
The near-inseparable nature of the Paul’s duo was shown in the pairs, both coming second on their sides. With a weaker bowside this year, Peerless seems more of a lock for the four (his erg 10 seconds or so faster than Wolfensberger), but I’d expect both to make the top boat, likely slotting in the same order as last year’s Henley-winning eight. Despite their wealth of experience, both have a hunger about them, Wolfensberger is more internal and quieter while Peerless operates with brash confidence. After a near-total black-and-white absence from the national teams last year, I can see Bobby Thatcher putting his preconceptions aside and allow his stern pair to challenge on an international level.
Schlottman and James
When the first wave of results were posted, someone told me there was an audible gasp permeating the trailer park and an immediate search for Schlottman and James. The Llandaff pair, coached by their fathers, underrated their competition, striking at a long and low 31, and destroyed much of the field, before holding their own in the next two rounds. With solid but unspectacular ergs, what sets them apart is a raw love of the game and a willingness to fight, and the question for the selectors will be whether the pair should be split up and transposed into the engine room of the four or eight. Even more interestingly, can Llandaff’s eight drive forward into the summer season, mimicking the famed underdogs of yesteryear, Hinksey’s and Monmouth‘s alike, the new PE rules allowing a strike at the traditional public school hegemony?
Scowen, Strokeside
The sole member of KCS’s 2022 eight returning to trial this year is Scowen, probably the most dogged and determined athlete in that crew, and though King’s look to be making a sneaky challenge domestically, his route to glory looks like it’ll come in August, not July. Putting together three very solid runs, and an ergo closing in on Ben Lundie’s British lightweight record, Scowen looks to be a mainstay of this year’s GB eight, thriving in the bigger boats.
Gray-Cheape, Strokeside
In the furore over St Pauls’ youth last year, few noticed Gray-Cheape’s (GC) last minute substitution into the Radley 1V, taking it from a pitiful 7th at Nat Schools to the Henley final. Similarly, throughout the fall season GC departed for the rugby fields (like Cam Tasker last year), before re-emerging at Boston and making up a poor first run by taking D matrix bow-siders to 4th place, twice in a row. While the failure of his first pair likely shows Radley’s bowside weakness, it is undeniable that GC is a indelible talent, one that I back for either 6 of the eight, or 2 of the four.
Floyd and Byca
It says a lot about Shiplake that their second pair made such a lasting mark, coming second in both training days, before a series of solid top 6 finishes in Boston. Floyd and Byca are lightweights in the more classical mould, their complete control of the boat incredible to watch, albeit with quite ordinary ergo scores. While they won’t be challenging at the top end, I could see both hovering around the border between coupe and worlds, especially amidst a bowside drought.
Ginsberg
Another coupe stalwart striking out into the big leagues, and the only National Champion trialling, Ginsberg similarly hovered between 4th and 6th each run, his usual boldness honed into raw performance. If the rumours of his swap to bowside are true, he could be a true force to watch, and either way he’ll make a definite impact before he goes stateside next year.
Notable Others
If last year’s anything to go by, a litany of contenders will bloom in the summer head. Among these could be the Tideway duo of Throsby and Budgen, both uniting from average first runs to strings of top 6 performances, or the mysterious force of Karadogan, maybe too raw for a pair but after a decent single and second-place on the erg a shoo-in for Paris, and if not this year then certainly in those to come. Similarly, Peck’s monster erg was undone by a poor first run, but having proven himself last year in the coupe four should compete in the coxed fours, as should other heavyweight standouts from last year like Alec Wild and Scott Bain.
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