Time to turn my attention to the reserve crews for this year’s Boat Race. These often produce some of the best racing but seldom get the media attention that they deserve. So, as with the Blue Boats, I’ll do a seat-by-seat comparison of the crews and try and predict a winner.
Cox
Cox
Jake Intrater - 🇺🇸
New Yorker, Intrater, coxed at Princeton as an undergraduate. He was the cox of the Tigers third varsity boat that won the petite final at the IRA’s in 2023.
Cox
Tobias Bernard - 🇬🇧/🇫🇷
Bernard grew up on the Championships course, learning his craft whilst at Westminster School. In 2021 he coxed the Westminster first eight to seventh at the National Schools’ Regatta and made the semi-finals of the Princess Elizabeth at Henley. He’s also had experience coxing on the Tideway for both Thames and London Rowing Clubs.
Verdict
Who has the stronger cox?
Oxford Advantage
Tideway experience is invaluable, and Bernard’s years of coxing on this course gives the Dark Blues the edge.
Stroke
Six
Luke Beever - 🇬🇧
The youngest member of the Goldie boat, Beever is the third member of last year’s winning Goldie boat to return for 2024. He rowed at King’s School Worcester where he sculled in their top quad at both the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. He also represented Great Britain at the Coupe de la Jeunesse.
Stroke
Gabriel Reynolds - 🇬🇧
The second of two Hinksey Sculling School rowers in the race, Reynolds was also a member of the Hinksey junior coxed four that reached the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley in 2021 and partnered Goldie’s Joe Travis to gold in the championship pair at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2022. At the recent GB trials, he was partnered by fellow Hinksey rower, Herbie Austin-Baker, finishing in eighth place as the fastest U21 pair. Stroke seat is a big responsibility for the teenager, but he is an exciting talent.
Verdict
Who has the stronger stroke seat?
Oxford Advantage
Two big name ex-juniors; Reynolds secures the advantage for Oxford - but only just.
Seven
Seven
Martin Amethier - 🇸🇪
Amathier was a “walk-on” as a Freshman at Stanford University after rowing briefly whilst at school at KCS Wimbledon. As a Freshman at Stanford he rowed in the 2V, winning bronze at the PAC-12 Championships and then in his Sophomore year he progressed to the Varsity, winning another bronze at the PAC-12’s. In his Senior year he was elected as team captain although due to the pandemic there was no competition.
Seven
Joseph Rosenfeld - 🇬🇧
Rosenfeld learnt to row on the Championship course having done his schooling at St Paul’s. He stroked the school second eight at the National Schools’ Regatta and then helped St Paul’s qualify in the Fawley in 2019. After going up to Oxford he rowed for Isis in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2021 and then won silver in the M4- at the BUCS Championships in 2022. Last season he was part of the Oxford squad winning the ‘Spare Pairs’ race.
Verdict
Who has the stronger seven seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Another close run battle, but I’m giving it to Goldie.
Six
Stroke
Brett Taylor - 🇹🇼/🇬🇧
The only Blue in the Goldie boat, Taylor was the two-seat in last year’s winning Blue Boat. Taylor grew up in Cambridge and learned rowing at Rob Roy Boat Club. He has dual British and Chinese Taipei citizenship and represented the latter at the Junior World Championships in 2019, finishing 12th in the JM1X. After winning the Boat Race he was selected to represent Great Britain at the European U23 Championships, wining a silver medal as part of the BM8+
Six
Tom Sharrock - 🇬🇧
The second of two Blues from last year’s race, Sharrock sat in the four-seat of last year’s Blue Boat. He learnt to row in Cambridge at the Cantabrigian club and spent 18 months rowing at Peterborough Rowing Club as part of British Rowing’s “World Class Start” programme.
Verdict
Who has the stronger six seat?
No Advantage for Either Crew
Taylor's international experience and Sharrock's Boat Race expertise leave them equal, with no advantage either way.
Five
Five
Thomas Connor - 🇬🇧
Connor is one of a rare breed in the men’s Boat Race squads – someone who only started rowing when they went up to university, but at 203cm tall he appears to be ideally suited to the sport and has, apparently, laid down some very impressive erg scores.
Five
Jackson Hardin - 🇺🇸
Hardin rowed at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Massachusetts, winning a silver medal at the New England Youth Championships. He did his undergraduate studies at Cornell, where strong performances on the erg and water secured his seat in the 1V every year.
Verdict
Who has the stronger five seat?
Oxford Advantage
Advantage to Isis, Hardin has the experience, but Connor has the size and power.
Four
Four
Dane Halkiw - 🇨🇦
The tallest athlete in any of the men’s boats this year, Halkiw learnt to row at Upper Canada College and represented Canada at the Junior World Championships in 2019. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, winning silver in the 2V at the IRA’s in 2021 and then gold in the Varsity coxed four at the PAC-12 Championships in 2022.
Four
Freddy Orpin - 🇬🇧
One of two members of the 2023 Oxford Blue Boat who step down to the reserves this year, Orpin learnt his rowing (sculling) at York City Rowing Club and raced in a York/Leeds composite in the Prince of Wales at Henley in 2021.
Verdict
Who has the stronger four seat?
Oxford Advantage
In the battle of the big men I’m giving the smallest of edges to Orpin of Isis; his experience of the Boat race will be invaluable.
Three
Three
Orlando Morley - 🇬🇧
The second of three returning Goldie crew members from last year, Morley is also a Lightweight Blue from the winning Cambridge boat from 2022. He learnt to row at Latymer Upper School so is no stranger to the Championship course and won silver in the championship pair at the National Schools’ Regatta back in 2021.
Three
Alex Underwood - 🇬🇧
Underwood learnt to row at Magdalen College School in Oxford and raced in the school first eight at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2022. In his first year at Oxford, he was part of the development squad and was selected to row in the Isis crew at Henley Royal Regatta last year, losing in the second round to Washington.
Verdict
Who has the stronger three seat?
Cambridge Advantage
A small advantage to Goldie, but really not much in it.
Two
Two
Joe Travis- 🇬🇧
One of two athletes in the reserve race who learnt to row at Hinksey Sculling School in Oxford (the other being Gabe Reynolds in Isis). Travis was a member of the outstanding Hinksey coxed four that made the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley in 2021, all of whom were only 17 years old. He and partner Reynolds also raced at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2022, winning gold in the championship pair.
Two
Christopher Hull - 🇬🇧/🇺🇸
One of only two Postgraduates in the Isis boat, Hull has a strong family history in the Boat Race. His father, Richard, was a member of the (in)famous Oxford Blue Boat in 1987….the year of the “mutiny” within the Oxford camp. Hull learnt to row at Olympia Area Rowing Club in Washington State. He attended Stanford where he rowed in the Varsity crew that finished fifth at the IRA’s in 2021.
Verdict
Who has the stronger two seat?
No Advantage for either Crew
I’m going evens here; Hull has the advantage of age and experience, but Travis is an outstanding young rower.
Bow
Bow
Sean Hayes - 🇺🇸
A member of last year’s victorious Goldie boat (one of three in this year’s crew), Hayes learnt to row at Greenwich Connecticut with whom he won gold at the 2016 US Youth Nationals and went on to represent the USA at the Junior World Championships, placing fourth. He did his undergraduate studies at Harvard where he rowed in the Lightweight Varsity.
Bow
Hamish Rimmer - 🇬🇧
One of two teenagers in the Isis boat, Rimmer learnt his rowing at Radley College and was a member of the Radley first eight that made the final of the Princess Elizabeth at Henley in 2022.
Verdict
Who has the stronger bow seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Advantage Goldie
The Prediction
Dan Spring's Verdict
Who will win the Isis Goldie race?
Cambridge
So, who do I think will win? This is really tough to call and could be the closest across all the races. Isis have the better experience with two former Blues on board and an experienced Tideway cox, but Goldie has a winning Blue in the stroke seat and three of the winning Goldie boat from last year. It really is too close to call, but if I’ve got to put my money where my mouth is, I’m going for Goldie by a length.
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