As the clock continues to countdown towards the Schools’ Head of the River Race at the end of March, and the crews get closer to solidifying their lineups, the racing always seems to get more intense. This weekend seems to be no exception. Many major UK junior rowing powerhouses such as Radley College Boat Club, Shiplake College Boat Club and Eton College Boat Club are all sending crews with the aim to gain more experience and hopefully pick up some hardware before they put their hat in the ring at the elusive and highly competitive Schools’ Head of the River Race. With five eights entered from Radley and a lack of a Junior 15 event, it is likely that some crews have entered their Junior 15 boats up a category in order to give them some real competitive experience.
Radley College Boat Club
Despite having some largely disappointing results last year, such as missing out on a podium finish at the Schools’ Head of the River replacement and a likely annoying sixth place finish at the National Schools’ Regatta, these boys are determined that this will be their year. Coming off their self-described ‘highly intensive’ February camp resulted in some unfortunate food poisoning for the lads in their squad ahead of a fourth-place finish at Hammersmith Head. Although this was a good result, it is likely further off where they would have liked to have been. After returning to Oxford to lick their wounds, I’m sure these boys will be keen to show off some real speed at this weekend’s race and continue building until the end of March.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Again, after a slightly underwhelming Junior 15 year, these boys have really started to pick up the momentum. After a full boat club camp in Cerlac over last year’s half term, these boys returned looking sharper and seem to have had an injection of speed into the boat. Steady progress from Quintin Head, where they placed ninth, sees them moving up the rank and even managing to beat Dulwich College Boat Club by a decent margin at Hammersmith Head. With this kind of improvement, and with them clearly being on an upward trajectory, Shiplake College Boat Club are in a good position to put in a stepping-stone performance this weekend ahead of the Schools’ Head of the River.
Bedford School Boat Club
“Let ’em cook” is a mantra that clearly worked for Bedford School Boat Club’s first eight after defeating Radley at Hammersmith Head, but is this a phrase that will also be passed down to their Junior 16 squad? Last year’s performance from Bedford once again signals an underdog presence. After illness and injury struck badly just before the National Schools’ Regatta, they were likely hugely disappointed to be unable to put out a strong performance on the national stage. Now that they’re back, this time with a telemetry-rigged Empacher, they’re likely looking to make their mark. A solid victory at Bedford Fours and Eights Head likely inspired confidence, and a fifth-place finish at Hammersmith Head signifies how they are continuing to improve. With the fourth-place finishers from Hammersmith Head, Radley College BC, starting two places in front, Bedford School BC should be looking to one-up them and take home the win.
Eton College Boat Club
New head coach; new sets of results? Eton College Boat Club in this age group hasn’t been bad, but like many other crews racing here, they clearly want to level up their performances. Last year’s results left their A boat in the B-final at the National Schools’ Regatta, although this was a huge improvement after a last-place finish only a few months earlier on home water at the Schools’ Head of the River replacement. Clearly on an upward trajectory, they chose to skip out on Hammersmith Head and some Tideway experience for a half-term camp at Dorney. However, what is interesting is that the crew is labelled as ‘Colts-B’, maybe suggesting that their B boat may be taking on this race instead of their first boat, perhaps hoping to pull out a huge performance in a month’s time at the Schools’ Head of the River. One thing is for sure, though; only time will tell.
Prediction
This race can effectively just be seen as another warm-up for the big one at the end of March; I’ve said it enough, but crews are obviously going to be working towards the Schools’ Head of the River. These smaller races along the way are just opportunities to pick up silverware and settle petty disputes between times rather than to put out any huge performance. I think for the prediction, I have to go with the finishing order from Hammersmith Head; for that reason, I’m going to predict the boys in red and white, Radley College BC, to take the win, closely followed by Bedford School BC, with Shiplake College BC and Eton College BC likely battling for third, with Shiplake just taking the bronze.
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