JRN

Marlow Regatta 2023 – Championship Eights Preview

It’s hard to believe that the last big pre-Henley regatta is already upon us, but the season always moves much quicker than expected. Henley is just on the horizon, and clubs are in the final stages of putting their lineups together and testing them in these all-important six-lane regattas.

For some programmes, a good performance here could be the difference between pre-qualifying or not for Henley Royal; for others, qualification is presumed, and Marlow acts more as a gauge for relative speed. For some, it will be confirmation and validation that boats are moving on the right track. For others, it will be a wake-up call.

As always, for those of us watching from the bank, it will be an exciting clash between some of the country’s – and world’s – best eights.

I will be giving a detailed preview of the event’s ‘main players’, before giving an overall top-three finish prediction.

Oxford Brookes University BC

Brookes are out in force at Marlow, and with each race we get a better picture of what their final lineups and prioritisations will be. Their top eight looks to be a Ladies Challenge Plate contender, and they will surely go into Marlow as the hot favourites. They’re stacked with talent at the moment, with strength in the middle from the likes of Sam Bannister and recent Oxford Blue James Doran, massive experience towards the bows with Matt Rowe and Jamie Copus, and a wealth of youthful talent with the likes of Ben Hinves, Jake Wincomb, Matt Heywood and Evan Olson. Coxed by the formidable Will Denegri, they have had a fantastic season thus far, and most recently came out ahead of Leander at the Metropolitan Regatta.

The second eight, which seems to be a Temple Cup combination featuring PA winner Louis Nares, has also been performing well, but will have been disappointed to be beaten to the silver at Met by Leander. They’ll certainly be looking to overturn that result while also solidifying themselves as the domestic favourite for the Temple.

Leander Club

A pretty fierce rivalry has developed between Leander and Brookes over the past few years, and this season might be the most direct we’ve ever seen it as the two British powerhouses look towards a final confrontation in the Ladies Challenge Cup in just a few weeks. Leander have been lagging pretty significantly behind Brookes for most of the season at the Ladies level, but with the injection of some serious talent in the form of Harry Glenister and George Rossiter (who may or may not be there to stay) and the reintroduction of Pete Lancashire in the stroke seat, they look to have stepped on. A loss to Brookes by just over two seconds at the Met will have stung, but they’ll be pleased that they seem to at least be making headway.

Marlow will, then, be crucial in establishing whether Leander are on a path to potentially overturn Brookes at HRR. The final should prove very interesting.

Thames RC

Thames are once again out in force, and their top eight should really challenge for a top-three finish based on what the Tideway men have been able to produce thus far this season. They look to be cementing a position as favourites for the Thames Cup this year (though clubs like London, who beat Thames at Wallingford last month, will certainly want to give them a run for their money), and even if they were quite a way off the pace of Brookes’ Temple boat on the Saturday at the Met, on the Sunday the Thames boys were able to put out a convincing victory in a field sans Brookes and Leander.

There’s some strong postgrad talent in the top Thames eight, including former Imperial College stalwart Max Ridgwell and Cambridge athlete Tom Strudwick. The squad has admirably been able to put together very fast sweep and sculling units this year, with the introduction of powerhouses like U23 World Champion Lenny Jenkins into the sculling squad. That’s really allowed Thames to flourish across both disciplines, and I think they’ll be reaping the rewards of their recruiting powers when it comes to Henley in a couple of weeks. For now, they’ll just be trying to put as much distance on other club boats as possible.

London RC

The prospect of a showdown between London and Thames at Marlow is pretty tantalising. London have had a very successful season thus far after several years of disappointing performances. With a young, determined squad and effective leadership, they’ve managed to grow into quite a formidable force this year, and at the recent Wallingford Regatta they were able to come home as the fastest club VIII – ahead of Thames.

I think deposing Thames this year will be a tall order when it comes to Henley. Institutional confidence has really been baked into the Thames squad for the best part of a decade; the same cannot be said for London. I imagine if it came down to a Thames/London final in the Thames Cup, the experience and confidence of the Thames boys would win out, even if the eights are seemingly close in speed. That being said, London are certainly building for the future, and will take every opportunity to see if they can open up any kind of lead on their Tideway rivals.

University of London BC

UL have had a bit of a mixed bag of a season thus far, failing perhaps to live up to the potential of their talent when it counts. Injury and illness has certainly played a role, particularly at BUCS, though they will also be cognizant that they are probably a little behind where they need to be if they want to challenge for the Temple or the PA.

That being said, they have some great athletes on the roster, including Henley winners, and they will have their sights squarely set on the Brookes Temple entry.

Imperial College BC

Imperial have lost a load of great athletes from last season, and many assumed that this year would be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Tideway boys. However, they’ve really surpassed expectations thus far and have become a very tidy unit with some great top-end speed. Bolstered by the talent of their top guys, George Shaw and Harry Stevens, they’ve cemented themselves as one of the UK’s top university eights. That being said, they’re in a tricky position – do they go in for the Temple, despite seemingly being decidedly off the pace of Brookes and Durham, or do they try and go for a PA boat? It will be interesting to see which way Imperial decides to pivot. Performance here might go a long way towards making that decision.

Newcastle University BC

Newcastle have had a tough couple of years, going from a consistent top-performer on the university circuit to struggling to compete with the top dogs. Their Champ VIII at BUCS failed to make it to the final, and went on to suffer a loss to Durham in the Boat Race of the North (the only Newcastle boat to do so). They’ll be smarting, and will want to end this season on as high a note as possible. Realistically, there are unlikely to be Henley wins on Newcastle’s horizons this year, but success might well come in the form of a late-round upset. Newcastle will be focusing on day-to-day improvements, with an ultimate view towards getting revenge on some of their closest rivals – Durham and Edinburgh. With some quality athletes heading up the squad, and the technical and developmental nous of Head Coach Angelo Savarino, Newcastle should never be completely discounted.

Others

There are a host of other crews entered here that will all be gunning for coveted spots in the A Final. Some of these will be junior crews; St Paul’s School will be building towards their annual Henley peak, and will be very keen to see that they are continually progressing after a silver at the National Schools’ Regattaand a bit of a weaker performance at the Met. With some extraordinary firepower in the middle of the boat with the likes of young Alp Karadogan, and with many of them already having a Henley win under their belts, they will be a formidable opposition.

They’ll be up against King’s College School, who took fifth at the National Schools’ Regatta, and Shiplake College, who were sixth. Shiplake likely represents a stronger threat – they were absolutely dominant earlier in the season, winning the Schools’ Head of the River by a significant margin, but haven’t been able to find that same speed in the regatta format. That being said, there’s clearly talent and potential there.

Sydney Rowing Club‘s entry is exciting; Sydney often send pretty strong club crews to race the Thames, Wyfold and Brit at Henley, and seeing how their eight stacks up against British clubs will be fascinating.

The same can be said for King’s College Boat Club, University of Queensland, who have entered some decent crews into the Temple in years past. Composites like Tideway Scullers School/Dartmouth College and London Rowing Club/Isis Boat Club are unknown quantities, but will likely be a mixture of club and student athletes. Dartmouth has great depth this year, so the Tideway/Dartmouth boat might well be one to watch.