Henley Royal Regatta 2022 – Monday Briefing

Ahead of the Regatta’s first ever Tuesday, we thought we’d save you all the hassle of frantically scanning the program for the day’s key match-ups and cover a few noteworthy contests in our preview. Expect one of these every night during the Regatta – our team are already in Henley and will be covering as much of the racing as possible.

Race 8: King’s School Parramatta, Australia vs Abingdon School (Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup)

The boys from Abingdon have the chance to send home a selected international crew before lunchtime. The question remains as to whether or not they can match the power of the Aussies, who were winners of the Schoolboy Four at their national championships and are slated as the fastest Australia have to offer at junior level. They were a full four finals behind the King’s School at Marlow Regatta last weekend, indicating that they probably won’t have the legs to hold off their overseas opposition. Still worth a mention given the potential for an early-doors upset.

Race 17: Thames Rowing Club vs Molesey Boat Club (Britannia Challenge Cup)

A heavyweight London match-up between two stalwarts of the club rowing scene. Expect Thames – who won Championship Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta and finished sixth in the same category at Marlow – to close this race out as a selected crew but it’s worth a watch (and a seat in the Remenham Club) when these two meet.

Race 22: Sydney Rowing Club, Australia vs London Rowing Club ‘A’ (Britannia Challenge Cup)

With the advantage of a selection – based on several strong domestic showings through the season – London will certainly have wanted a kinder draw. Sydney don’t come to Henley unless they’re confident they’ve got the speed to upset the established order. Although this is Sydney’s second-ranked crew on paper, this boat is littered with previous HRR experience including Charles Patterson, who will be racing in his sixth Henley campaign, and Will Downey, who is competing at Henley for the tenth occasion.

Race 36: Groton School, USA vs Eton College (Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup)

Another potentially fascinating contest between domestic and international representation. Eton are strong favourites to retain the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup after sweeping to victory in the Championship Boys Eight category at the National Schools’ Regatta four weeks ago. Groton are not likely to be in the running for the overall title in 2022 but any crew that makes the trip across the Atlantic is worth paying attention to. I expect Eton to clean-house here.

Race 43: Marlow Rowing Club ‘A’ vs Henley Rowing Club (Fawley Challenge Cup)

First off – kudos to Marlow for having a letter next to their name. Any club that can sneak more than one boat into the main draw for the Fawley Challenge Cup – which had to be squeezed from 65 entries into 24 – deserves the admiration of the general public. This race promises to be one of the closest of the day; Marlow outran Henley at Marlow Regatta but with the advantage of home water, Henley will fancy their chances if they can get out quickly.

Race 45: Cambridge University vs University of Washington (Temple Challenge Cup)

Even if this race should be straightforward, you can’t not mention it when considering the names involved. This is the Cambridge lightweight Blue Boat, who won their annual contest against Oxford and placed 22nd overall at the Head of the River Race in March. The Husky crew are a combination of athletes from the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight. The last time Washington came to the UK to race the Temple Challenge Cup, they won the whole thing, defeating a brilliant Oxford Brookes crew and breaking the course record in the process.

Race 54: Woodrow Wilson High School, USA vs Reading Blue Coat School (Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup)

Woodrow Wilson won the Scholastic National Championships in May, beat St Joe’s Prep at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta to win Boys Eights and finished third at the Washington Metropolitan Championships. Reading Blue Coat School won the First Eights category at the Schools’ Head of the River and finished sixth in Junior Eights at Marlow Regatta. Sound tasty? Woodrow Wilson are supposedly one the fastest schoolboy crews to ever emerge from the DC region – expect a really good contest.

Race 59: Wycliffe Junior Rowing Club ‘B’ vs Hartpury College (Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup)

Another short note to commend Wycliffe on securing two of the 24 slots for their own in the competition for schoolgirl quads. Wycliffe have really emerged onto the scene in the past couple of seasons, winning Junior 18 Girl’s Quads at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in March and placing fourth in the same category at the National Schools’ Regatta. Hartpury went through a four-year unbeaten streak in this category from 2014 to 2017. Although they haven’t quite scaled the same lofty heights since, they remain a very real threat.

Race 71: Warrington Rowing Club vs Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School (Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup)

Another race that could be explosive. Both crews exited Junior Quads at the same stage at Henley Women’s Regatta last weekend and were separated by three places at the National Schools’ Regatta. Based on previous form, Warrington will fancy themselves (they were last in the ‘A’ final of Championship Girls Quads four weeks ago whereas Borlase were third in the ‘B’ final) but Henley throws up some very different challenges.

Race 76: Westminster School vs Brunswick School, USA (Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup)

Another transatlantic rivalry brewing on the Henley straights. Westminster have had a pretty good season domestically – they were fifth in the ‘A’ final of Championship Boys Eights at the National Schools’ Regatta and sixth in the ‘B’ final of Championship Eights at Marlow Regatta. Brunswick won gold at the NEIRA Championship Regatta over 1500m; the victory, a first-ever New England title in rowing for the School, capped off an undefeated season for the varsity boat. They were a little way behind Westminster at Marlow but may feel they can claw some of that deficit back one-on-one.

Race 77: Newcastle University ‘A’ vs Edinburgh University ‘A’ (Temple Challenge Cup)

A proper Northern barnstormer. Neither of these crews will have wanted to face each other on day one and both are not their university’s top boat. That in itself should make for some superb racing. Both crews were in the ‘B’ final of Championship Eights at Marlow, separated by four places and a few seconds.

About The Author

Tom Morgan

Tom is the Founder of JRN. He has been creating content around rowing for over a decade and has been fortunate enough to witness some of the greatest athletes and races to ever grace our sport.

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