We have finally arrived at Head of the River. For many this will mean time to say goodbye and good riddance to the longer ergo tests, such as the 30r20 and the 5km, but for others this be be a fantastic chance to put the quality of their winter training to the test. Hopefully all those long, dark hours will have paid off. First raced in 1927, HoRR uses the 6.8km Championship Course, which will certainly be a worthy test for these top athletes.
With some of the recent Boat Race fixtures showing off just about the worst of Tideway conditions, experience will definitely make a difference, with coxes likely spending ample time memorising the best line. The question is, who has put enough miles in the tank to earn the historic Fairbairn Trophy?
Leander Club
Arguably the most successful rowing club in the world, Leander Club are notorious for winning rowing races. A large part of the GB rowing team are members of the club, so the ‘A’ crew is expected to be mostly Caversham-based athletes. Recently GB February Trials was won by the infamous Oliver Wynn-Griffith and Tom George, meaning they are effectively the quickest pair Great Britain has to offer. They will certainly be in the top crew, along with athletes like Sholto Carnegie, a member of the GB four at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Will Stewart, current world champion in the four, will likely be included in the top eight as well.
The remainder of the seats could be filled with top club-based athletes such as Joshua Bowesman-Jones, Lenny Jenkins and James Vogel. In recent fixtures, Leander have been fielding a scullers eight as their second crew, so I expect athletes such as Bryn Ellery and Joseph Adamson to be in that boat. Whether this will be the ‘B’ or ‘C’ crew is unknown to me.
As to the remaining two eights, these will likely be made up of some of Leander’s development athletes, such as U23s or gap year students. If recent fixtures are anything to go by, with a loss to a strong Oxford crew and a win against Cambridge, Leander will be in the hunt for the win.
Oxford Brookes University BC
Currently the top rowing university in the UK, a large contingent of the GB rowing team are also members of Oxford Brookes. At the recent February Trials, three of the top five pairs were from Brookes, with David Bewicke-Copley and Morgan Bolding taking second place. Again the ‘A’ crew will feature as many Caversham-based athletes as possible, before filling up remaining seats with club-based athletes. This means world champions Dave Ambler, Tom Digby, Sam Nunn, Rory Gibbs, and Freddie Davidson will be in it; in fact they may even be able to field a fully Caversham-based boat.
Both their second and third crews are also entered into the open category, rather than the university category, meaning there’ll be room for athletes such as Jamie Copus, the lightweight sculler, and Brookes veteran Gareth Syphas. All of these crews will be looking to finish in the top five, and therefore hold off the likes of Thames RC and Leander ‘C’.
Newcastle University BC
While most of the rowers in the top Newcastle University boat will be students, they have entered the open category. This is a regular occurrence, as James Rudkin, current world champion in the men’s eight, likes to row with his alma mater for HoRR. While they won’t be in contention for the win due to the strength of the competition, having a current world champion in a university crew will certainly increase the quality of rowing, and hopefully the speed too.
Prediction
Overall, I predict a win for Oxford Brookes ‘A’ crew. Simply put, they have the largest number of athletes on the GBRT. Leander will be strong though, and I expect them to take second place, with Brookes ‘B’ and Leander ‘B’ taking third and fourth respectively.
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