Rutherford Head, one of the country’s largest head races outside of Head of the River, has become a staple event for clubs, especially those in the north, to break through the mould to prove that they are the crew to beat moving into the post-Christmas season. The open coxless fours always prove to be a competitive category, full of the north’s latest and greatest from the region’s high-performance programs. This year, the open coxless fours’ first group has 9 strong entries, all vying for the silverware at Rutherford.
Edinburgh University Boat Club
Scotland’s largest performance program has produced its fair share of first-class athletes over its run, and Edinburgh University BC shows no signs of letting up.
At this year’s Rutherford Head, the EUBC crew in the coxless fours will be entered under Howie, the club’s current men’s captain. The University’s open coxless four has seen some previous success across the last year, notably at BUCS Head where the crew from Edinburgh managed an impressive second place finish in the championship coxless fours with a time of 15:14, losing out to Rutherford competition Newcastle by 15 seconds but beating out Nottingham by 15 seconds. More recently, the club had success at Inverness Head at the beginning of November, where the club conquered the entire podium in the open coxless fours. Additionally, EUBC pulled off a rapid 17:13 time at Head of the River Race this year, achieving a strong third place finish behind University of London and the mighty Brookes. Lastly, at Henley this year in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup, Edinburgh made it to Thursday and in a spectacular race, barely missed out on the semi-finals thanks to a length long victory by Oxford Brookes. Being last year’s winners, beating out Durham by a razor thin 1.5 seconds, they’ll be hoping to continue their reign.
Under the expert guidance of Edinburgh’s coaching team, led by the likes of Colin Williamson and Dale Flockhart, EUBC is certainly going to remain at the forefront of the national racing scene and with the strength of this men’s crew, they will be in contention for the win at Rutherford.
Glasgow University Boat Club
Representing the west of Scotland against the eastern powerhouse of Edinburgh is Glasgow University BC. The Clyde-based club has been breaking into the Scottish and National scenes more and more in recent years – trying to chip away at the dominance of EUBC.
GUBC’s open coxless four has been entered under Waddell and will be supported by Hughson, Gorrie and Beeson. Waddell has represented Scotland at both Beach Sprints and Rowing at Home International Regatta, and his fellow crewmate Hughson was a member of the M8+ that took home the gold for Scotland at Home International Regatta this year as well as the Bronze in the M4+. Beeson has long been prominent on the Scottish and National scene, with ample experience gained at both GUBC and his home club of ASRA, with multiple National Schools Regatta victories behind him and two-time rower for Scotland. In addition, the GUBC crew in the form of the OR1 4x pulled off the fastest time of the weekend at Inverness Head in November of this year, demonstrating their prowess across both sculling and sweep.
The crew from the Clyde has tremendous experience across British Rowing, and being last year’s champions in the coxless quads, they will be hoping to continue their upward trajectory this year with success at Rutherford.
Newcastle University Boat Club
The Tyne-based University club is bound to have a home advantage this year as they take on the river at Rutherford head. Newcastle University BC has entered 3 crews this year, entered under Houghton, Howard and Dillon.
Each of these crews absolutely has their own merits. Howard is just recently off a strong 20th overall finish at U23 and senior GB trials this November. Also, all crews experienced the highs and lows of Henley Royal Regatta as NUBC sent a large fleet of crews to take on the Temple Challenge Cup this year. Additionally, the club’s men pulled off a win in the Open Lightweight Championship 4- at BUCS regatta, as well as various other strong finishes including sixth in the Op Champ 8+ and fourth in the Op Int 8+. At Head of the River Race in 2024, NUBC managed a 19th-place finish, just missing out on the podium in the University Category. As mentioned, at BUCS head, Newcastle had an immensely successful weekend for their sweep men, with a large win of 15 seconds in the open championship coxless fours, and the championship and intermediate coxed fours.
The club sits proud as the reigning champions of Rutherford’s open coxed fours, and hope that they will maintain this excellence in the coxless event this year. Under the expert eye of Angelo Savarino, Newcastle University BC has reached new heights with his high-performance program, and his rowers will be using his advice and teaching to make sure that they can be in with a shot of winning at Rutherford this weekend.
Durham University Boat Club
Yet another example of the north’s stellar high-performance programs, Durham University BC is seeking to continue their great successes of last season. With two entries into the open coxless fours, entered under Hanks and Dean. Durham has experienced a strong last season, off the back of a 26th-place overall finish at Head of the River Race, a bronze medal for the men’s 8 in the championship race at BUCS regatta and a quarter-final finish for the men in the Temple Challenge Cup this year, having just been pipped by Oxford Brookes – showing their infinite capabilities in sweep rowing across the board. Durham lost out on the win at Rutherford in this same event last year to a strong crew from Edinburgh by an excruciating second and a half, Durham will be keen to grab the crown off of Edinburgh this weekend and claim what was so nearly theirs last year.
With the combination of the careful tutelage of Head Coach Will Fletcher, mixed with the immense power and capability of DUBC’s senior men’s squad, both Durham boats will certainly be in the mix to take home the win.
Predictions
More than ever, I find it challenging to make a concrete call as to who I believe will win this race due to the incredibly strong lineup. Drawing from each of their dominance across the UK’s rowing scene over the past year, I would conclude that this race will likely be won by either Edinburgh University Boat Club or Newcastle University Boat Club ‘Houghton’. Having seen first-hand the ability of Edinburgh and Newcastle, and knowing just what all these great clubs are capable of, I anticipate a fantastic spectacle on the Tyne this coming weekend.
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