A particular favourite of mine, not least for the erratic steering so often on show during the earlier (and occasionally later) rounds. A proper example of coxless four racing, all demarcated and distilled into the narrow booms of the Henley straights. What I also love about this category is that no one club have built up a real head of steam to dominate the event over successive years. Only one club (Molesey) have won the event more than once in the past 10 years. Will 2021 welcome a new entrant into the record books?
Deutscher Ruder Club Hannover von 1884, Germany
As with all international entrants, it can be a little tricky to discern exactly how fast the crew is coming into the event. Typically though, you do not send over boats who aren’t materially competitive (especially in a year still overshadowed by the spectre of COVID-19). This crew finished sixth over 1km at the German National Championships and the crew seems to comprise junior/U23 athletes with promising results in various nationally ranked races.
Lea Rowing Club
The club’s top-ranked boat, two of this crew (Cheale and Skinner) were in the selected 2019 Lea RC Wyfold boat that reached the semi finals (narrowly losing to eventual winners Sydney). The crew most recently finished seventh in the ‘A’ final of Championship Coxless Fours at Marlow Regatta but only a matter of seconds behind the likes of Tideway Scullers and Upper Thames.
Northwich Rowing Club
A bastion of Northern rowing, Northwich went through a period between 2013 and 2015 where their junior squad was very strong. That era have come of age now and comprise the majority of this crew, including the Lawton brothers. This outfit won Tier 2 Coxless Fours at Marlow Regatta, in a time that would have been competitive with other fast club crew in the Championship category.
Thames Rowing Club
It wouldn’t be a club event at HRR without a competitive, and potentially category-defining, entry from the effervescent Thames. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they’re favourites – they’ve stacked their Thames Cup eight as a priority crew – but this boat has members who have raced in the squad throughout the season. 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th finishes at the Metropolitan Regatta in Championship Coxless Fours shows the strength in depth of the team.
Tideway Scullers School
As with so many large clubs in the UK, this crew have raced across categories and boat classes throughout the summer. This crew is stacked with international experience and having operated in the high-performance environment that TSS have fostered this year, expect this unit to be fast. Two of this crew were eighth in Championship Coxless Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta and Matt Christie won the Britannia Challenge Cup with Molesey in 2019. I’m told they’re going very well in training, matching up against the required times to win the event outright.
Upper Thames Rowing Club
Upper Thames’ finest hour at Henley Royal Regatta came in 2014, when they won both the Wyfold and Britannia Challenge Cups. They haven’t really managed to recapture that form over the past seven years but this outfit looks strong and has been very competitive domestically in 2021, placing sixth in Championship Coxless Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta and placing fourth in the same category at Marlow Regatta.
Prediction
The club events are always notoriously tricky to call. My gut feeling is that Tideway Scullers School are going fast and should be in for a good Regatta. I’m going to opt for Upper Thames as another potential finalist, provided the two don’t meet earlier in the draw.
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