Reviews:
15:20 – Oxford Brookes University ‘A’ v. Cambridge University
Yesterday we said that Oxford Brookes looked beatable and it seems like they took that personally. Aggressive off the start they killed off any hopes of the Cambridge light blue boat, taking half a length off the island and had open water by the quarter-mile. Striding clearly on, the girls in burgundy lead by two lengths at Fawley and sat down in control of this one, rowing the length of the course with that margin and comfortably booking their place in tomorrow’s final. This crew displayed the sort of control, rhythm and dominance that we have come to expect from the Wallingford-based program that has been sorely missing earlier in the week. For the Cambridge crew, they are the first women’s eight to win a round at Henley Royal Regatta let alone make it to the weekend, so should be pleased by this outcome even if they have missed out on the top honours.
16:10 – Newcastle University v. University of London
This was possibly the most exciting dual of the regatta so far. Prior to this race, very little was known about the speed of this University of London crew. With no racing in a women’s field since the Metropolitan Regatta, where they were behind Newcastle despite beating them at BUCS Regatta. They were relatively untested on their route to the final and their true speed remained obscured. As a result, every twist and turn in this race seemed decisive- and there were plenty of twists and turns.
Off the start, Newcastle pulled away into an instant lead of half a length at the quarter-mile, and it seemed that they were lucky to have made it this far. Through Fawley meadow, the University of London drew close but struggled to move past the blue star and it looked like it would be a repeat of the Newcastle-Durham race from yesterday. Coming into the enclosures, the team in purple were pulling away and we were destined for a rematch of 2021. But then the bubble burst. The University of London had just spent too much on that final push, the extra 112 metres proved too much and Newcatle came steaming through for their second dramatic victory in as many days.
Preview:
Oxford Brookes University ‘A’ v. Newcastle University
The rise of Oxford Brookes women’s squad in recent years has been phenomenal. Unlike their men, who have been winning BUCS Regattas and Temple Challenge Cups since the nineties, the women’s have only monopolised the BUCS Championship eights since 2021. Since then, they have been the dominant program in that event as well as the best British crew in each of the runnings of the Island Challenge Cup. Before that point, it was Newcastle who picked up the last gold at BUCS Regatta before the pandemic-enforced pause.
This Sunday, we will see a renewal of this battle of the eras. Newcastle battled through a gauntlet to make it to the final, beating crews from Rhode Island and ASR Nereus with relative ease, followed by two epics against Durham and the University of London. Brookes, on the other hand, had an easier run of things. A victory over Nottingham on Thursday began their campaign, followed by a difficult victory over Oxford before being back in their typical form today against Cambridge. In an era of Brookes domination, it is easy to hope that someone will break that dominance but I would be surprised if Newcastle managed: my pick in this final is a win for Oxford Brookes.
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