With the final assessment coming up this week for U23 selection this will for a number of crews be their chance to cement their position in the team. Obviously, a good result here will be important, particularly with some big names over in America that will also be in the running for places on the team.
Oliver Parish & Luca Ferarro
This pair topped the times in the second assessment by quite some way. Although I’m sure both of them have spent the last weeks licking their wounds from losing the Boat Race, I have no doubt they will be back on it for the final assessment. Oliver Parish has long been seen as one of the biggest talents on the British Rowing seen ever since his days as part of that magical St. Paul’s eight. Luca Ferraro equally has looked for a while now like a promising U23 talent. Hopefully now with the Boat Race behind them they will both put on the same level of performance as they achieved at the second assessment.
Jacob Wincomb & Benjamin Hinves, Toby Lassen & Louis Nares
Oxford Brookes has no shortage of talent in its program. I’ve picked these pairs as probably the strongest we will see at the final assessment although there could be up to four pairs from the programme at the final test. With once again dominant performances at HORR this year and events such as BUCS Regatta very near, these crews will likely be very much on form. Jacob Wincomb will certainly be wanting to retain his seat in the U23 squad while the likes of Toby Lassen & Louis Nares look to be getting faster with every test.
Robbie Prosser-Wrench & Theodore Bell
This pair is possibly the wild card that I could see making a big statement in this final test. Theodore Bell in the first test was the second fastest U21 athlete while this pair was the third fastest pair in the second test this time over 2km. With the experience of Robbie Prosser-Wrench in the bow and the power of Theodore Bell, this is the pair that looks like it could best stand out from the rest of the very strong competition.
Prediction
On an individual level, irrespective of the partnerships which take to the water this weekend, I’d expect the likes of Ollie Parish, Robbie Prosser-Wrench, and the plethora of athletes from Brookes (Nares, Wincomb, Hullah, Hinves, Heywood & Lassen, to name a few) to be at the head of the pack. With athletes also competing from Thames RC, Molesey RC, Newcastle University, University of London, and others, it’s sure to be a competitive set of final trials and all the athletes will have to push to the limit to stand out.
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