The pair is unique amongst sweep boats. The smallest of them, it’s hard to get right and fairly disastrous for speed should it go wrong. The smallest tip can have a detrimental effect on the run of the boat and potentially be the difference between winning and losing. In an event that is not usually the focus for many clubs (with the eight and the four taking precedents), it will be interesting to see the strength of entries for the traditional big hitters in this event and see if they can stack up against some strong newcomers.
SATURDAY
Leander Club
They say that youth is wasted on the young, but Leander clearly doesn’t think so as their current pair is made up of two gap year rowers, Junior Worlds silver medalist Hylton Harvey and HIR England representative and fellow Radley Mariner March Turnball. The pair showed a great deal of grit and maturity beyond their years in winning Challenge Pair at Wallingford in April, where they beat both Thames and Upper Thames by comfortable margins, as well as squeezing out Emmanuel (who went on to win the pairs gold at NSR) by two seconds. Met will be a step up from Wallingford, with a larger and arguably more skilled field including the likes of Molesey, Thames, and Skibereen but the partnership seems to be working well thus far. If Leander does not place in the top three, given the strength of their programme and the skill they have already shown it would be very surprising to say the least. A title contender for sure.
Itchen Imperial BC
A name that might be unfamiliar to even the most avid follower of club rowing, Southampton-based Itchen Imperial BC are more known as a coastal rowing club. However, over the past few years, the club has quietly built up consistently strong results in both pairs and doubles with talented sculler, James Cracknell, who is named in this crew.
Molesey BC
Back to the big names, and there are few bigger than Molesey BC. It’s unclear how this pair lines up with Molesey’s other entries across the regatta, but the stroke is named as Robbie Prosser of the University of Bristol, indicating that this is international quality crew. Looking down the entry list they will be optimistic of their chances of a win here.
Thames RC
Becoming the equivalent to Oxford Brookes in the world of club rowing, one can normally assume that if a crew from Thames RC is entered it will be in contention to win the event. Similar to Molesey, it’s unlikely that event is the club’s priority for the weekend, with the club almost certainly putting their big guns into the big boats, but that’s no reason to discount them.
Others
There are a number of crews travelling over from Ireland in Cork BC, Neptune RC and Skibereen RC. With no results to compare these with domestic crews, it’s hard to say how they’ll stack up, but based on previous years when Irish contingents have been present, they are normally pretty competitive.
More familiar clubs like Oxford University BC, Kingston RC and University of Surrey BC also have entries in the event. Out of these Oxford might compete with the favourites, with Colson Andrews named as the stroke-man, who featured in bow of the reserve boat, Isis, at the Boat Race earlier this year.
SUNDAY
There are fewer crews entered on the Sunday, a common theme across all events. However, the quality remains pretty consistent in this event, with many of the same clubs competing, Itchen Imperial, Cork and Neptune all return.
Thames also return, but with a different crew, this time Henley winner Pat Hanratty is named as the stroke-man indicating a highly competitive outfit. Rumour has it Hanratty has been part of a group targeting the Prince of Wales this year, so the transition from sculling to sweep will be interesting to see.
Also of note are two entries from Shiplake College BC, who after a disappointing National Schools’ will be hungry for better results in the run up to, and most importantly during, Henley Royal Regatta.
Predictions
For Saturday’s event, I reckon the pair from Molesey will take the win, although I could see strong Irish crew taking the win as well.
On Sunday, it’s wide open, Thames, the Irish, and Shiplake all stand a chance of taking the win.
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