Is this event a formality? You can’t really ignore the obvious, that one crew stands some way above the rest at this point, but you’d be foolish to discount those who were left behind on the sun-dappled waters of Dorney Lake some five weeks ago. If this event stays true to the form book, we can revel in the power, poise and precision of one of the fastest schoolboy crews ever. If we’re set for a dramatic upset, we can gasp and gape at one of the most profoundly shocking reversals in sporting history. Henley Royal Regatta often appears as if it’s a closed deal – but that course, that atmosphere and the unique pressure of the world’s pre-eminent river regatta can do strange things to the mind.
St Paul’s School
Admittedly, it’s almost a surprise to see St Paul’s entered into this event. This remarkable schoolboy crew lies leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the field and with the potential to win the Temple Challenge Cup, it is somewhat uninspiring to see this crew entered into the PE this year. However, with 7 out of 8 of these boys losing out on this prestigious trophy last season to Scotch College, it is coherent as to why this crew are entered into this division. An extraordinary performance at the recent Marlow regatta in favourable conditions has shown that this crew are up to the standard of crews in the Ladies Plate category, such as Leander, and this indicates if the game plan runs smoothly and without a hitch through 5 days of racing next week, these boys will effortlessly wipe out the rest of the field. It is verging on being unquestionable that this crew and their coaches will be holding up the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the end of next weekend.
Eton College
It is often said that pride comes before a fall and Eton’s history so far this season has truly emphasised this. A noble bronze medal finish at Schools’ Head of the River at the start of the season created a sense of gratification for the members of this crew and their coaches, however Eton’s 1st 8 faced their downfall at National Schools’ Regatta where they slipped from the medal positions down into 5th due to resurgent Bedford and Radley crews. We might question whether Eton will be given a major seeding in the event this year, and if they aren’t awarded with one, we could see them facing the likes of St Paul’s, Shiplake or Radley on the 1st day, which would result in a tough first days racing for this crew. However, all was not lost for Eton College at National Schools’ as a beyond breathtaking performance in the coxed four on the Sunday overwhelmed St Paul’s School and this evidences a great amount of depth in their squad. With their 1st and 2nd eights only being separated by a couple of seconds over a 2km course, it will be fascinating to see whether Eton can find that extra speed they need to distinguish their top crew from their second eight. If the coaches manage to work with this crew to make the alterations required, we could see a resurgence and a strong comeback from Eton’s eight this season, and progression through to the semi finals certainly isn’t looking out of reach for Eton’s crew this year.
Brunswick School USA
The international crews, often considered as the Big Dogs, the Game Players. No one knows how fast these crews are or how exactly they are going to perform. However one thing is undeniable, if you’ve travelled a substantial number of hours overseas, you’re going to be fast and you are most certainly going to be able to perform under pressure. Brunswick High School from the United States will have their eyes on the prize, however will have an arduous and demanding task ahead of them if they are to get their hands upon the trophy. It is challenging to estimate Brunswick’s speed relative to the other international crews entered into this event this year, as they did not present themselves at the American Youth National Championships this season. However, their recent admirable performance at Marlow Regatta, where they made it into the A final ahead of Bedford, Hampton and Abingdon would suggest that this crew will be one to watch. With this crew placing just behind the likes of Eton, Radley, Shrewsbury and Latymer, if this crew are drawn up against any of the top UK schoolboy crews, we know that there will be some formidable racing in store. I think it is unlikely that this crew will be able to bring the intimidation, determination and fear that Scotch imposed upon the rest of the field last year, however it is undoubtable that this crew will be looking to make the best impression possible at Henley Royal Regatta and I am sure whoever is drawn up against this crew will be in for a tough fight and a tight race.
Royal Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury have shown themselves to be a competitive crew this season, however haven’t quite managed to reach the top of the field and dominate this year as they probably would have hoped to. This crew has shown promising progression throughout the season, starting off the competitive racing season with a 6th place finish at School’s Head and then moving on to an exciting A final photo finish with St Edward’s School at National School’s Regatta. Their speed has improved exponentially and this was displayed recently by a 2nd place finish at Marlow Regatta, indicating that they have managed to really sharpen up and gain that extra bit of speed required to bring them up to the standard of the big players, such as Radley and Shiplake College. This crew are logically unlikely to get a seeding at this year’s regatta and therefore they will be hoping for a favourable draw so that they have unchallenging races over the first couple of the days of the regatta, however we could easily see the likes of the Shiplake Vs Westminster race last year, resulting in a tough race or potentially a knock-out for this Shrewsbury crew on the Wednesday.
Shiplake College
Maintaining their position of finishing third at National Schools’ Regatta like last year, Shiplake will be intending to round their season on a high note on their home water and go one better than last years crew and make the final and even possibly win. With last year’s GBvs France cox Jacob Kirby at the helm in the coxing seat, Shiplake will be facing healthy competition from both domestic and overseas crews when it comes to being one of the four crews to make it to the weekend’s racing. The vikings are no stranger to tough races at Henley, last year they knocked out the unseeded Westminster in the first round while Elvis boat was playing the the background, and just missed out on a spot in the final, bringing us onto….
Radley College
It was though at the beginning of this season that Radley would be one of the top schoolboy crews in the country, and silenced the worries from earlier on in their season by being the next fastest crew behind the dominant St Paul’s at NSR. In this race they overturned Bedford School, who beat them just two weeks prior, showing their ability to pile on speed in the short time leading up to events. Finalists last year, there is only one goal better for Radley to strive towards. I remember from last year every time Radley boated, the support from all the travelling fans was the best of any crew at the regatta. Maybe this is the key behind their success at Henley? That being said, Radley are a class crew and if there is any British crew that will be able to stop St Paul’s from an historic triple, Radley is your best bet.
St Joseph College Nudgee College, Australia
This crew are looking to pick up the mantle laid down by fellow countrymen, Scotch College, last year. They were runners-up at the Queensland Head of the River and GPS Centenary Rowing Championships and won bronze in the Schoolboy Eight category at the Sydney International Regatta. Several of the crew have made headlines in the sculling categories, capturing a range of medals throughout the season. Patrick Long, racing in the six seat, is a back-to-back single sculls national champion. Expect this unit to be well drilled, powerful and capable of causing an upset.
St John’s High School USA
It has been hard to find results for this crew recently, but in making the trip across the pond to Henley they must be a class crew ready to cause a storm amongst the British crews. They placed 39th in Youth Eights at Head of the Charles earlier this season, which places them behind the three British crews that raced there (St Paul’s, Radley (2nd crew behind a top 4+), and King’s College Wimbledon). Although this may make them seem to not be challenges to lift the trophy on the Sunday amongst the world’s best, they will be trying to not be one of those crews to fall in the early stages.
Abingdon School
After scratching their entry for Marlow Regatta, the most recent result available on Abingdon is their win of the B Final of Ch8+ at NSR, a time that would put them in the fight if they actually raced the A final. The odds are against Abingdon to progress into the latter stages of the event as not one of the top domestic crews and now have the challenge of potentially facing crews from overseas as well. They should not be doubted, however, and will want to progress further into the regatta than their counterparts from Griffen BC (Abingdon Old Boys’ BC) in the Thames.
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