A staple in the Northern rowing scene, Rutherford Head is a litmus test during the Head season. With temperatures plummeting and sunlight fading, repetition becomes the rower’s friend. With the truncation of the season due to the cancellation of several races, most recently Fours Head, attention now turns largely to larger boats in preparation for post-Christmas racing. Uniquely placed in the heart of the Tyne in Newburn, quality rowing is abundant across the three bands of this event. With three of the highest-ranked university rowing clubs in Britain (Edinburgh, Newcastle and Durham) having all entered this event, it should go right down to the wire.
Newcastle University Boat Club
Newcastle University Boat Club‘s dominance has been challenged in recent years, as a resurgent Durham and then Edinburgh have sought to topple it from its lofty heights. A substantially improved BUCS Regatta Victor Ludorum performance from the men’s squad in 2024, which saw them finish sixth in comparison to the previous year, where they finished outside the top ten, was followed by an unlucky draw at Henley Royal Regatta 2024, as Princeton defeated The Temple Challenge Cup crew on Wednesday.
Newcastle has recruited well for this year, as demonstrated by recent performances at GB trials, where two of the five pairs entered finished inside the top 20, with Gwilyn Johnson and Ed Ridley finishing as the eight fastest U23 pair and with first years Dan Coupe and William Eddlestone as the fourth fastest U21 pair. The four and the eight are Newcastle’s bread and butter, and given the strong showing in both at last year’s event (where their alumnae Blue Star boat was the fastest eight on the course), one would suspect that they would produce similar results here. We can’t gauge the speed that Newcastle will bring to the Tyne this weekend, but given their improved performances over the past two years, it is more than likely that the Blue Star could top the podium.
Edinburgh University Boat Club
Possibly one of the most dramatic transformations of any university boat club in the past twenty or so years, Edinburgh University Boat Club is a powerhouse of Scottish and British Rowing. A peak of performance in 2021, which saw a BUCS Regatta Victor Ludorum win for the first time in club history and the first for any Scottish university, the last three years have been a transition of sorts, as the size and scale of both men’s and women’s squads have been reduced. Not many clubs can say that they’ve qualified two men’s eights, three women’s eights and two fours in the same Henley Royal Regatta campaign or can say that they have a beginner program that has produces athletes that can beat the best at the highest level in seemingly no time at all, and it will be interesting to the speed that the club has been perfecting over the winter. Having entered two fours in this first band alongside Durham, Edinburgh won the second band of last year’s event and has moved up to contest the higher band this year, with arguably more firepower than before. The stage is set for a dogfight, and the Scots will hope that they will come out on top.
Durham University Boat Club
A club whose dominance of British University rowing was once absolute, Durham University Boat Club endured some fallow (by their high standards) years at the start of this decade. However, like their Blue Star compatriots further down the river, Durham has regained much over the past two years, including a BUCS Regatta Victor Ludorum title in 2022 and some outstanding results at The Head of the River Race and Summer racing season (a gold at BUCS Head and a bronze at BUCS Regatta). Of course, as the adage says, “That was then, and this is now”, but the reality remains that Durham is very good at what they do. Following a somewhat disappointing performance at last year’s Rutherford Head, where they were beaten into first by some fifteen seconds by a familiar Blue Star foe, and Edinburgh having moved up to contest this year’s race in Band one, Durham now has the unenviable task of attempting to beat both in a boat class where, historically, both have done incredibly well. But if anyone can, I would bet that Durham can.
Abingdon School Boat Club
A school boat club that has gone through a major transition since their three-peat in The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the start of the 2010s, Abingdon has struggled in recent years to recapture the form of those glory days. The rise of St Pauls, Radley and Shiplake has placed Abingdon into the middle of the pack; the fact that they have entered an event usually the domicile of local clubs and universities speaks volumes as to the confidence that coach Phil Gray has in the current crop of athletes. As with their university elders, trials results and British selection are strong indicators of good individual performance, but they can only tell us so much about the overall strength of a rowing programme, school or otherwise. National Schools’ Regatta medals in the eight for the Junior 16s in 2023, where they won bronze, indicates that the winds may be blowing in favour of the boys from South Oxfordshire. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, there are university crews within the field who can more than equal them and Abingdon will have to put it an almighty shift to stand a chance of a good result.
Tyne Amateur Rowing Club
2024 is a great time to be at Tyne Amateur Rowing Club. Following years of strong performances, Tyne’s senior squad did the club proud at Henley Royal Regatta 2024, with 13 athletes (the most in club history) qualifying in four boats. Their Wyfold Challenge Cup four progressed to the Semifinals, losing to eventual winners Marlow. The depth of quality in the coxed fours category means Tyne will have their work cut out for them against the emerging force of the Scottish university fours in Glasgow and St Andrews and the strong regional players of Nottingham University Boat Club, Leeds Rowing Club and Lancaster University Boat Club this weekend. However, with Tyne’s strength over the past season and a half and their home water advantage, one has to wonder if this crew will have the Tyne of their lives this weekend. Tyne has set the quality benchmark in northern rowing for some time, and if they don’t place well in band two, it will be a shock.
Predictions
Based on home water advantage and previous form, I expect Newcastle University Boat Club to win the three-horse race between the northern high-performance centres. Edinburgh University Boat Club and Durham University Boat Club will fight for second place.
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