HWR 23 – our first foray onto the Henley stretch this year after a windy weekend of racing at National Schools’ Regatta and just over two weeks until Henley Royal. It’s almost the time of year when words like Bucks and Berks start to get thrown around and rowers from all around the world flock to the banks of Henley, or perhaps the Stewards’ Enclosure if they’re lucky enough. But before all that; we have 1500m of time trials and side-by-side racing down from Temple to Remenham as the 22 crews entered battle it out to hoist the Peabody Cup on Sunday.
Headington School Oxford Boat Club
It’s no doubt that HSOBC has one of the country’s best sweep programs, under head coach Ryan Demaine, so it’s might not come as a surprise that they are the clear favourites for HWR. Looking at the string of victories they have this season, from the Women’s Head of the River to the National Schools’ Regatta (by a whopping ten second-margin) this crew has the experience and the skill to bring home another one – as DJ Khaled would put it. After having bested all that that British rowing has to offer in the way of competition, any potential upsets are more likely to come from overseas (particularly across the Atlantic) but that seems to be a worry reserved for their HRR efforts.
Henley Rowing Club
Uh oh! If you’re a returning JRN follower you might be dismayed by the lack of praises sung about HRC this time. While none of those were undeserved, it seems the 2023 season is proving tougher than expected. After coming second at the Schools’ Head of the River to Wycliffe (alas – the girls in purple can sweep and scull) in the Championship Girls Eight category, and then second again at a dramatic Women’s Head of the River – only after a ten-second time penalty – and finally third at the National Schools’ Regatta to Headington and Surbiton, it seems the usual gold the Henley girls bring home is turning to silver. With their top four athletes racing in the quad, it seems remote that they will find enough speed in the few weeks succeeding the showdown at Dorney Lake to make Headington’s life difficult. They seem to be leading the fight to appear on the opposite station from Headington though and we all know anything can happen between the oddly hypnotic vacuum of the booms…
Surbiton
A stacked boat with a few World Junior Championship returners racing their final season in the junior circuit – this Surbiton crew is also most definitely in contention for a strong showing this weekend. It seems the shift from winter racing to regatta season suited them well; a relatively indifferent winter – fifth at the Schools’ Head of the River and eighth at the Women’s Head of the River – led to a much stronger summer showing – third at Walling ford Regatta before claiming a silver medal at the National Schools’ Regatta. The question will be as to whether they can take that final step and overcome a superb Headington unit.
Other Entries
It seems only wise to bring attention to the other big names entered; Hinksey and Shrewsbury return to the 8+ after trying their hand (albeit both quite successfully) at the 4- at NSR. Their success in the 8+ will be predominantly based on squad depth (or perhaps the lack thereof) which provides interesting insights into their programs. Tideway Scullers’ School are also a crew to watch out for, with some big ergs in the boat and positive results throughout the season.
Predictions
- Headington School Oxford Boat Club
- Henley Rowing Club
- Surbiton High School Boat Club
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