Having left the junior system a couple of years ago, I don’t often write for Junior Rowing News. The athlete, stories, coaches and races have passed me by, and the sub-plots that so often fascinated me when I competed have disappeared to be replaced by the new. However, the championship eight category is something different. The flagship of junior rowing, the best of British talent. The Schools’ Head is, by all accounts, one of the most challenging races on the calendar, and it takes skill, determination, power and no small amount of fortune to claim victory. The junior rowing season has already unwound many of its rivalries but, as we approach the summer months, Thursday’s racing will surely provide us with yet another twist in a tale that keeps on surprising. Here, I will run through my top picks in typical JRN fashion and try to divulge a little of what I know and remember.
St Paul’s School
As St Paul’s drew further and further away from their boyhood rivals, down the glittering Henley stretch and on into the history books, they re-coloured the pink parade that had dominated 2015 in a black and white blur. They’ll be carrying six red box holders down the Tideway stretch on Thursday and this experience will be crucial in the on-going battle against Westminster School. A series of excellent results through the winter, including a retention of their title at the Fours Head, show these boys are in form. They lost a couple of notable athletes to pastures new over the summer, including Arthur Doyle and stroke-man Marco Hughes. Bobby Thatcher has got the 2016 contingent whipped into a mean shape though and, heading off second, it’ll take a colossal feat to overturn these boys. All stories have two sides though…
Westminster School
If anyone wants to beat St Paul’s, it’s this crew. Under the new tenure of Josh Butler, following Billy Mason’s retirement in the summer, they’ve been storming up and down the Tideway in preparation for their attempted at retention and redemption. They’ve been in fine fettle through the winter, wrapping up wins at the Pairs Head, Hampton Head and Brugge Boat Race to name but a few. They’ve also kept a good chunk of their top crew from last year, including the Plaut twins. Speaking to one athlete from St Paul’s last weekend, he spoke of how he expects Westminster to ‘come back with a vengeance’. The rivalry between the men in pink and St Paul’s has dominated the narrative of their junior rowing career from J14 and this season is the final year for many of these athletes to stake a claim. Leading the pack will give Westminster a definitive advantage and will give them whatever racing line they choose.
Eton College
Following their minor blip through 2012/2013, where they struggled in the shadow of Abingdon, Eton are well and truly back at the summit of junior rowing. They put in a remarkable performance at the Head of the Trent, defeating all challengers but the Cambridge University Blue Boat whilst also putting nearly a minute into King’s School Chester. They finished third last year, but were 13 seconds back on Westminster – a gap which they’ll be looking to close considerably on Thursday. Although I do not think they have the necessary fire-power to win the event outright, they’ll be strong contenders in the summer months. The power struggle between these three crews will shape the dynamic of junior eight’s rowing this season.
Royal Shrewsbury School
Under the guidance of Athol Hundermark, Royal Shrewsbury School had an excellent 2015. They finished fifth at the Schools’ Head and National Schools’ Regatta, whilst also wrapping up a number of wins at lesser known events. Their early exit at the hands of Hampton School in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup will have been a big disappointment to the crew, but class never dies – Hundermark will have this year’s boat ready for racing on Thursday. They’ve been fairy quiet this season, finishing fourth at the Fours Head and coming home as the seventh fastest school at the Head of the Charles. Such results do not inspire lucrative claims of speed, but I fancy Shrewsbury to be moving well down the Tideway championship course.
Shiplake College
Shiplake have been a mover on the junior scene for a few years now. They were dominant winners of the first eights category at the National Schools’ Regatta last year and made the Thursday of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. This season, they’ve been in blinding form – they were the fastest school in the morning division of Reading University Head, beating the likes of Abingdon and Winchester School, and finished first in the pair at the Early ID trials in November. Under Dave Currie, they’ve made the step up to championship level and look good for the change. If they can break into the top five, it’ll be a great result for these boys.
Radley College
I fear a difficult season may be ahead for these boys. Having lost Charlie Elwes to Yale University, they don’t have many stand-out names to fill the hole that Charlie’s considerable power has left. They raced to a third place at the Wallingford Head of the River in November, finished second at Hampton Head and picked up a few high placing finishes at the Henley Sculls. They’ll be fast and will likely improve as the year wears on – they often peak at the Henley Royal Regatta, evidenced by their semi-final placing in last year’s competition. If they can reach the top five, I think they’ll be very happy.
Hampton School
Following the heady heights of 2012. Hampton have struggled to recreate that sort of form. They failed to make the final of the Championship Eight category at the National Schools’ Regatta last year, but rallied to beat Shrewsbury on the Wednesday of Henley. They finished fourth at their big boats head in February and will be carrying world record holder Dom Jackson, who JRN interviewed after his record breaking tilt on the ergo. I can’t be sure how quick these boys will be, but I don’t expect them to match the pace of Westminster, Eton or St Paul’s.
There are a smattering of foreign crews in this year’s event, including Portora from Ireland. Widely regarded as one of the top Irish rowing clubs, they won sports team of the year a few weeks ago in a nationally recognised award. Olona 1894 cc Italy aren’t a club I’m familiar with, whilst MEC Hungary are the rowing club of the technical university of Budapest [I think]. Either way, the Tideway is an unpredictable beast and I don’t think these crews will make much of an imprint on the fastest boats.
My overall prediction? I think St Paul’s will take it, ahead of Westminster with Eton in third. It’s going to be a fascinating encounter whatever the case!
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