As we edge ever closer to Henley Royal Regatta in just over a month’s time, each regatta becomes more and more important as clubs, schools and universities begin to finalise their Henley crews. Quads entering this event will be looking to contest the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley this year, an intermediate sculling event. Unlike any other regatta, the Metropolitan Regatta offers the same events on consecutive days, making it a unique opportunity for programmes to test their crews.
Leander Club
The undisputed power house of British men’s sculling in recent years, Leander will be looking to repeat their win in this event from last year. They are entered under Rory Harris, who won the Queen Mother Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta last year, subbing in for Angus Groom in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver winning crew. The amount of depth Leander has is nothing short of incredible, they have athletes such as Jack Keating and Oliver Costley who won the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup last year. This crew has already proved their worth this season, taking a dominant win at Wallingford Regatta.
Leander are entered on both days of this event however on Sunday the crew is entered under Sergey Vujosevic, a Leander junior, hinting that this might be the junior crew that won silver at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Championship Boys Quad category.
Reading University BC
The only university programme that focusses exclusively on sculling, Reading are known for producing fast men’s quads year after year. They picked up a win at Fours Head back in November as well as winning BUCS Head in the Men’s Championship Quad category. However, they were pipped to a gold medal at BUCS Regatta by an impressive Queen’s University Belfast crew. Therefore, Reading will undoubtedly be looking to give Leander a run for their money at the Metropolitan Regatta on the Saturday of this event.
Hartpury College & University BC
Another programme known for putting a lot of its resources into men’s sculling, Hartpury will be looking to get into the mix in the sharp end of the field. Little is known of Hartpury this season, they didn’t attend Fours Head or BUCS Regatta and didn’t enter Championship Quad at BUCS Head, instead opting to enter intermediate quad. They could well be the dark horses in this event and be up there at the top with Reading and Leander on the Saturday of this event.
London RC
One of the top club programmes in the country, London are typically known for their success in sweep boats. However, they have been known to produce some strong results in sculling events in recent years. Most notably in the Wingfield Sculls last Autumn where London had three crews entered, with Rui Xu claiming second place behind Graeme Thomas. This crew will be racing on both Saturday and Sunday of this event. This same London crew is racing on both Saturday and Sunday, maximising their chance at racing experience.
Prediction
For the racing on Saturday I predict that Leander will take the win, followed by Reading in second and Hartpury in third. However Sunday I predict that London will win, followed by Leander and then Upper Thames.
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