The major event of the year, the event that all of these athletes will have been working towards since September, the Temple Challenge Cup for university men’s eights has had a massive entry this year, with 75 crews vying for 32 slots in the event. The scale of the entry has meant that to qualify alone, there are only seven spots available from 50 crews who will take part in the Friday time trial. This preview will look at some of the key names in the draw, all of whom have pre-qualified for the event.
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club ‘A’
After the disappointment of the unfortunate manner of defeat in last year’s Friday heat, Brookes have set about reclaiming an event they have won five times since 2014. This is a task they have set about with some intent, as evidenced by their results over the course of the year.
They dominated the Championship Eights event at BUCS Regatta, and then took this form overseas with strong results at both Ghent and Ratzberg Regattas overseas, before returning to take a dominant win in the Championship Eights event at Marlow Regatta, with a near nine second win.
This form, combined with a desire to right the events of last year, combined with the know how of the Brookes system in terms of delivering performances at Henley mean they start the week as one of the favourites.
University of Washington, USA
Winners of this event in 2018 in a record time, the Huskies have made the trip over to Henley in force this year. In terms of looking at their offering for the Temple, it must be noted that Varsity Eights are ineligible to race this event.
At the recent IRA championships, they were second in the Second Varsity Eights event, and third in the Third Varsity Grand Final. Washington is a programme that is rich in quality top to bottom, and with the experience of producing winning Henley crews, the Huskies will want to uphold their reputation and status as one of the most feared names in world rowing.
University of London Boat Club ‘A’
UL have had a stellar season thus far and have identified themselves to be the biggest domestic threat to the aforementioned Brookes crew on numerous occasions.
They picked up silver at BUCS in the Championship Eights event, and were second at Met Regatta on the Saturday. This was followed up with a third place finish at Marlow Regatta, behind Brookes and Molesey.
With three of last year’s Prince Albert winning four on board, including Isaac Workman who was half of the top U23 pair from final trials in April, this is another domestic crew who will have high hopes for this event.
University of California, Berkeley, USA
Another of the major US universities who have made the trip across to Henley this year, Cal are riding on a high as a club after their Varsity Eight took a commanding victory at the IRAs for the first time since 2016.
Looking at the results from the crews who are Temple eligible, their second and third Eights took second and fifth respectively in their Grand Finals, which resulted in a second place finish as a team in the event. Again, another name to watch towards the latter stages of this event.
Yale University, USA
Yale are another powerhouse US name who have come over to Henley this year, with two crews racing in the Temple. The programme consistently produces fast crews, as evidenced by their results across the board at the IRA championships and then taking a clean sweep in the Harvard vs Yale race for the first time in 26 years.
At least one of these crews appears to come from Yale’s lightweights, who were fourth in the Grand Final at the IRAs. It will be fascinating to see how they stack up against some of the heavier crews in this draw, especially in the match racing format of Henley.
Durham University Boat Club ‘A’
Durham has a huge entry of four crews for the Temple this year, a departure from recent years where they have tended to lean towards the Prince Albert with their top crews. The ‘A’ crew has had a strong season this year, the first under new leadership with Rob Dauncey taking over as Head Coach.
They placed fifth in Championship Eights at BUCS Regatta, and then eighth and fifth on the Saturday and Sunday respectively at Met Regatta. They also took the First Eight title away from local rivals Newcastle at the Boat Race of the North for the first time in 12 years.
With this boat being their top crew at the Regatta, they will look to race well and cement the idea that Durham is back on the way up.
Others
Other notable entries feature last year’s winners ASR Nereus and semi-finalists Triton making the trip across from the Netherlands. With the Holland Beker Regatta not taking place until this weekend, results on these crews are hard to find, but both would not be making the trip if they felt they didn’t have something to offer.
Newcastle and Edinburgh also have crews competing in this event, with both clubs choosing to put their top athletes into the Prince Albert, both of these crews consist of athletes 5-12 in their respective squads. Both were in the B final of Championship Eights at Marlow Regatta, so will be solid entries from two big names on the UK circuit.
Prediction
As is the beauty of Henley, so much rests on how the draw plays out and the impact this can have on the event is profound. Given that this year’s entry for the Temple is one of the largest seen in years, it is hard to make a concrete prediction.
Certainly, it can be said that Brookes are the crew to beat domestically such has been their dominance this season, but with so much foreign interest in the event, it will be a real test of their mettle to see if they can prevail. Certainly anyone who can give them a race will fancy themselves come July 3rd.
One thing is for sure though – this year will be a tasty one…
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