The Temple Challenge Cup is the epitome of rowing at student level in the UK and perhaps in the world, rivalled only by the IRA Championships in the U.S.A. Year on year the winning crew contains athletes who go on to represent their nations at U23 level and has been won in recent years by powerhouses such as Oxford Brookes, Nereus and Washington.
Because of the standard at top level, however, it sometimes means that universities opt to enter the Prince Albert to try and get an event win. As such, we often see the top crews rowing over pretty easily in the early rounds. This year will be no different, with only 28 crews entered, several will get a bye straight to the Thursday of the Regatta.
Oxford Brookes University
Winners of the Temple for three of the past five years, Oxford Brookes certainly have pedigree in this event, it almost being their bread-and-butter these days. Coming from a first and second place finish in Championship Eights at BUCS Regatta Oxford Brookes are streets ahead of all the domestic competition, and the competition knows it, most have entered their top athletes in the PA instead of the Temple.
This crew is so fast they would probably be competitive in the Ladies Plate, however the top student athletes (who haven’t already won this event) are in this crew to give them the opportunity to win before stepping up a level in the future.
Interestingly, Brookes only have one crew entered, which to me indicates that if a crew isn’t going to win (assuming their ‘A’ boat does), then they may as well enter the Ladies (in which they have three crews) for better racing. This just goes to show the level at which Brookes are operating at these days.
No one will come close to Oxford Brookes in this event, unless their familiar opponents from the Netherlands can do something special.
Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereniging Nereus, Netherlands
After whizzing through the entry list it looked as though this year’s Temple would be predictable and could only go one way. Then I noticed this entry. Nereus beat the famous Brookes crew containing Stanhope, Gibbs, Bolding et al in the Temple in 2015, and beat Leander to the finish line in the final of the Ladies in 2016 only to be disqualified.
We haven’t seen a really strong crew from them for a few years but if they are anything like as quick as their predecessors then they could be genuine challengers for Brookes. Four of the eight came second in the Dutch National Championships this year in the coxless four, indicating that these are indeed quality athletes.
If this crew is the real deal I really hope the Stewards recognise this and ensure we don’t see a repeat of 2015 when the final played out on the Friday between Brookes and Nereus.
Utrechtsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Trintion, Netherlands
Another crew from the Netherlands although less familiar to most compared to Nereus. At an event earlier in the season this crew reportedly went 5.44 in flat conditions, and all the athletes are knocking on the door at senior level within the Netherlands’ trials set-up. On paper this looks like another impressive crew but only time will tell whether they are true rivals for the likes of Brookes.
Imperial College London
IC are one of only two top UK universities (other than Brookes) not to enter their top boat in the PA. With three crews entered it’s impressive to see their depth, although I suspect the third boat is a novice crew who have luckily qualified thanks to the number of entries this year.
The top IC boat has a good chance of making it through to the weekend, assuming they get a good draw, and not a repeat of 2019 when they drew Newcastle’s top boat and went out on the Wednesday.
Edinburgh University
It’s great to see a genuinely fast student boat coming out of Scotland again. Edinburgh have gone from just having some standout GB level athletes to having a men’s squad with strength and depth. They have challenged the top crews at Marlow and BUCS Regatta this year and with the absence of Newcastle’s and UL’s top athletes they too stand a chance of making it to the weekend with some luck in the draw.
Although their top boats are in the PA, Newcastle and UL have enough depth for their Temple entries to be quick as well. My guess is neither will make it past Friday but as always the draw will come into play at this stage in the Regatta.
Prediction
Brookes to take the Win over Nereus in the final, Triton and IC to make it to the weekend although at this stage the draw will come into play. We could see one tight semi-final leading to a tired crew having to go in a tight final.
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