On Friday 24th May, Eton Dorney will host ten events for National Schools’ Regatta, one of which will be the Creber Cup. A whopping 38 junior 15 coxed quads will be pit against each other to form four finals, but who will come out on top?
Walbrook Rowing Club
Winners at both the Junior Sculling Head and Junior Sculling Regatta, Walbrook are the boat to beat. Their superb form has really set the cat amongst the pigeons and I’ll be very interested to see how this group of athletes evolve through the age groups, especially if they can take the national title on Friday.
Windsor Boys School
A name synonymous with victory in the quad event at a national level, this Windsor Boys quad most recently competed at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, where they finished first in the time trial. Despite this, they were just pipped by Thames London. Here, this crew will be aiming to right those wrongs in order to prove their pedigree.
Hereford Cathedral School
Hereford also competed in a boys junior 15 coxed quad at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, finishing in a commendable third place. They managed an eighth-placed finish at the Junior Sculling Head in March so I am confident that an A-final is on the cards for this crew.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow’s junior rowing programme has made a name for itself in the past decade, after a series of excellent performances across the age groups but particularly at the business end of quad sculling. They were second in the ‘B’ final at the Junior Sculling Regatta in early May and will be looking to improve on that standing.
Grange School
A bronze in March – behind Walbrook and Windsor – was followed up with a sixth-placed overall finish in the corresponding category at the Junior Sculling Regatta. Squeezing into the A-final will be priority #1 for this crew, but I would not be surprised to see them have a tilt at the medals too.
Wallingford Rowing Club
Another bastion of junior rowing, Wallingford have seen a lot more success in their junior women ranks of late but this boat are out to change this. They were sixth in March at the Junior Sculling Head and bettered this two weeks ago to win bronze at the Junior Sculling Regatta. A podium placement would be a superb result for this crew.
Mossbourne Rowing Academy
When we first started JRN, our founder travelled to Hackney to interview school principal Peter Hughes and talk to him about his vision for elite rowing at a state school. Fast forward nearly ten years and Mossbourne are now firmly cemented as a staple of junior rowing. Although they may not yet have won any senior national titles, consistent elite success takes time and there is no doubting that they’ve built a strong foundation. This crew were ninth at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head but were only five seconds back on fifth, so an A-final strikes me as within reach.
Tideway Sculler’s School
Tideway Scullers have made their way to the top of the tree in junior rowing over the past few years, culminating in two Henley wins in three years. Whilst not much is known about the crew, I am confident that TSS can create another technically strong junior men’s quad.
Prediction
After claiming gold at both of the events they have attended so far this season, it is hard to look past Walbrook Rowing Club for top spot on Friday. I think Windsor will take silver and the fight for bronze could feature any of the aforementioned, although likely prominent contestants will be Grange, Wallingford and Hereford Cathedral School.
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