JRN

Metropolitan Regatta 2023 – Open Coxless Fours Preview

Summer racing is ramping up, and Henley is drawing ever-closer. For a number of clubs, this is a vital period in establishing themselves in the run-up to the Royal Regatta. Selection decisions are still to be made, but more importantly, boat priorities need to be addressed. Which boats should be prioritised for eventual Henley campaigns? For many clubs, this choice will revolve mostly around prioritising an eight versus a four. Regattas like Met and Marlow are crucial in informing these decisions.

With that in mind, the coxless fours categories at the Met should be very interesting, full of close racing between athletes that will be very keen to lay down a marker pre-Henley as they look towards potential Visitors, Wyfolds, Brit or Prince Albert entries.

I’m going to look at each category broadly for both days of racing, with a preview of the ‘main players’ and a finish order prediction at the end. Note that time trials for each category are raced separately, but the categories will merge for the finals (so any final could include Championship, Club and Academic boats).

SATURDAY

Championship

The obvious standout here is Oxford Brookes University, who have one four entered under Jonathan Cameron. Cameron is a very experienced athlete who spent a few years in the Boston University 1V before joining the Brookes programme, so this is likely to be a fast boat – potentially testing a Prince Albert combination. Expect fireworks from these boys.

They’ll expect to be pushed by Durham University, who have come on leaps and bounds this year. This four, entered under Dominic Newton, seems to be a second eight combination, so will likely struggle to match the power of Brookes.

Molesey BC, however, have an interesting entry here under Oliver Salonna – another experienced guy out of BU who has Henley wins in the Thames and Wyfold Challenge Cups to his name while rowing at Molesey. This will likely be a fast combination that will be vying for the win.

Challenges will likely come from University College Dublin, who have sent pretty good fours over from Ireland for the past couple of years, building towards Henley projects; and London Rowing Club, who have been on the up this year and have, at this point, a pretty formidable squad – one that will be very keen to tip the Tideway-club balance of power away from Thames RC. They did very well at Wallingford Regatta recently, in the fours and the eights, and will be looking to establish themselves as the form club going into Henley.

Club

There are a huge number of club fours entered here, and there should be some fierce racing from top to bottom. There are a few standout crews here.

London Rowing Club should field a fast four, having done fantastically at Wallingford Regatta to take third in Challenge Eights behind Leander, and first in Club Eights ahead of Vesta and Lea – both of which have fours entered here. Vesta will likely be ones to watch too; they’re enjoying a real resurgence after a lengthy period of lagging behind their Tideway competitors. This looks to be Vesta’s top boat, entered under Vesta veteran and former St Paul’s School rower James King. Lea have had a good year so far, and look to have a pretty quick four that will likely have an eye on the Wyfolds. They may well be dark horses here.

Challenges will come from the likes of Nottingham, who took home a great win in Club Coxless Fours at Wallingford just recently. Derby were second at Wallingford and are entered again here; they’re not a huge club, but have some good speed at the top end this year. It’s worth watching out for City of Bristol too, who put two fours into the A Final of Club Coxless Fours at Wallingford. If they consolidate into a faster single unit, they could really challenge here.

Academic

It’s a three-horse race here between Oxford University, Durham University and Liverpool University. None of these guys are first eight-calibre, but the standout will likely be Oxford. This is a four of Isis guys, who had a pretty quick boat this year despite a loss to CUBC’s Goldie at The Boat Race. Anthony Kenny is an ex-Harvard heavyweight with a great deal of experience, and it’s rumoured this four also contains Junior Worlds gold medallist Saxon Stacey, so I would imagine these boys will walk away with this category.

That being said, Durham is, as aforementioned, steadily growing in stature across all levels, and will want to put up a good fight against the Oxford boys. I doubt Liverpool will have the speed to match the other fours, but the nature of the event – with the three categories merged for the finals – means that no crew will necessarily be pushed out the back.

Prediction

I think it’s a pretty safe bet to suggest the top three fours will all be from the championship group. I’m going to go with Molesey in first, with Oxford Brookes second and Durham third (all Championship crews).

SUNDAY

Championship

A similar draw here, with many of the same crews entered again from Saturday. Brookes is notably absent here, leaving Molesey’s route towards a potential win a little clearer. Shiplake have an entry in on the Sunday; if this is their top four, they’ll definitely be ones to watch. Despite a disappointing National Schools’, the Shiplake boys are still a real force this year, and will want to really step on to build back confidence towards Henley. Aside from that, the other contenders will likely be Durham and London RC.

Club

Again, the players are largely the same here as on the Saturday. A notable inclusion is Thames RC. This should be a tantalising prospect, as the Thames boys face down against London and Vesta for a battle for Tideway supremacy. It looks as if Nottingham‘s top four is absent on the Sunday, which leaves the event a little more open.

There’s no Academic category on the Sunday, so the finals will be populated only by Championship and Club boats.