With Henley Royal Regatta starting just over a week after Marlow Regatta, this event will not only give a final opportunity to pre-qualify for some of the faster crews, but also these results will give us some of the best insights into which crews to be watching out for come Henley.
Oxford Brookes University BC
Coming out of a programme like Brookes it’s no surprise that this crew is fast. A strong overall win on the Saturday at Met showed that this crew has what it takes to lead the field, but they will be wanting to repeat that feat here again in order to carry that confidence into Henley. With the ever-reliable and experienced Jack Prior at stroke this crew is a pretty safe bet to produce a predictable Brookes victory. They will be needing to bring that confidence out of this weekend though with talk of big hitters from across the Atlantic such as Washington and Princeton entering the Visitors at Henley.
Molesey BC
It was Molesey (B) who came second behind Brookes on the Saturday at Met; a strong result although there’s no doubt they would have wanted to be closer to Brookes. This crew has ample power on board with the likes of Robbie Prosser and Isaac Workman. Like Brookes though, this race will be about cementing a strong finish, ideally in the top three, in order to maintain their confidence approaching their Henley campaign, presumably focussed on the Wyfolds.
Thames RC
Thames has become one of the most dominant forces in domestic rowing, and as such its always dangerous to dismiss any of their crews early on. Fifth and sixth in the A final on the Sunday at the Met were decent results although these crews will be wanting to have found a bit more speed in the two-week break since. Another A final will be the target for both crews at the minimum and with Henley so close, beating rivals such as London Rowing Club and Upper Thames will also be on their mind.
Oxford University BC
Oxford University has begun to make a habit of producing a fast coxless four to enter into the Visitors. It will be interesting to see who makes up this crew although it would appear that it is the Australian, Anthony Kenny who is stroking it. Likely a crew expecting to pre-qualify, while the A final is on the cards, they will have it very tough with such a high quality field.
Waikato RC, New Zealand
EDIT – we have been informed that this boat are in fact a female crew. Big moves from the girls from New Zealand, pitching up to perform in an open event. Let’s see what they can do.
Coming all the way from New Zealand, Waikato will be wanting to make sure the time and money is well spent. Last time they made the journey over, they were knocked out on day two of Henley by a strong Brookes crew. No doubt they will be thankful for this race as a chance to shake off any stiffness from the long journey and get into the racing mindset before the big week.
Prediction
Brookes looks to be a fairly safe bet to win although I would expect Molesey (b) to push them all the way just as they did at the Met. Behind that it is more difficult to predict although I could see maybe Oxford University coming in third. There are also some potentially very fast crews from the likes of London Rowing Club who certainly should be ones to watch out for.
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