In a season of schoolboy Head Rowing, there is nothing quite like Schools’ Head of the River. The twists and turns of the Tideway are legendary and require shrewd coxing. It would be easy, in the midst of the titanic battle of the Championship Eight and First Eight races, to ignore the Boys Second Eight. However, one would be wrong to think this. The sheer quality of schoolboy rowing in Britain at the moment means that the quality of oarsmen is set high and that, far from being cast-offs, Second Eight cohort are still top athletes.
Shiplake College Boat Club
A boat club of exceptional quality, Shiplake College Boat Club has a habit of producing crews with consistently excellent results. Their Second Eight is no exception. The black, maroon, and gold-finished 4th in 2019, and the current crop have already shown their quality on this very water, winning at Hammersmith Head in late February (no mean feat considering that they beat several high-class University and Club crews including the University of Bristol and Vesta RC). This came off the back of solid results at Quintin Head, where the crew finished fourth, and two second-placed finishes at Wallingford and Wycliffe (where they also won first place in their category). Having entered two crews in the Boys Second Eight category, one would think that both crews would be of high quality, especially considering how good their season has been thus far. One to watch for sure.
Eton College Boat Club
Another crew that is used to winning, and winning often, Eton College Boat Club has a steady stream of excellent results at all levels. Recent results from the Boys in Blue’s Second Eight include a fourth-placed finish at Hammersmith Head, third at Hampton, and ninth at Quintin ( the positioning would have been higher has the crew not incurred a ten-second penalty)would be decent results for a middle-tier club, but not for a club that has won the Boys Second Eight at two of the last three SHORR, and finishing in the top three on all occasions. With Shiplake being as fast as they are, and Radley hot on their heels, could this be a year where Eton’s dominance of the Boys Second Eight begins to crack? Only will time will tell. A top-five finish looks likely but only the power and determination of the crew will be able to ensure that they convert that speed into a win.
St Paul’s School Boat
By the high standards that one has come to expect of St Paul’s School Boat Club, the season so far has been one of mixed fortune. A 10th place finish at Quintin and most recently 7th at Hammersmith Head leads one to question if this crew is capable of reproducing their top three finishes of the past two SHORR. It would be foolish in the extreme to write St Paul’s off from these results alone, but they do paint a picture of a crew that has not yet clicked. What is also troubling from a St Paul’s perspective is that they were beaten by a comfortable margin in both Hammersmith and Quintin by Radley and Shiplake, narrowly avoiding being forced out of the top ten by Shiplake’s Third Eight. With all these crews competing against them, St Paul’s will have to pull something special out of the hat, as based on current form, a win is far from a foregone conclusion.
Radley College Boat Club
The form that has seen the Championship Eight come back into contention for top places appears to have trickled down to the Radley Second Eight+. Although their last outing was a disappointing 13th place at Quintin (the crew incurred a ten-second penalty for being late to the start, without which they would have finished 9th) Radley will know that this is not reflective of their overall start to the season. This start includes a third place at Hammersmith, where they were beaten by Shiplake by only two seconds, and another third at Wallingford. Radley Second Eight boats have traditionally been inconsistent at SHORR, with their placings ranging from 11th in 2017, third in 2018, and sixth in 2019. One would hope that three years of strength training off the water and encouraging results on it would be enough to propel Radley to another top-three finish. It is certainly within reach.
St Edwards School Boat Club
With their Championship Eight having risen back to compete at the front of the pack for medals, St Edwards second string have followed up with consistent performances as of late. 12th at Hammersmith represented a good result for the boat, especially as they were St Edwards’s only boat and up against multiple Radley and Shiplake crews. A win at Hampton Head against arguably stronger Radley and Eton opposition is indicative of the much lower gap in quality between St Edwards boats compared to other School Second Eight boats and because of this, one would think that they could challenge for a top 7-8 finish.
Prediction
A tough one to call as ever. Shiplake should get a top-five finish alongside Eton second and Radley third, with St Paul’s and St Edwards battling for the remaining top five spots.
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