With only one more day left until Henley Royal Regatta finally kicks off, we have a look at Saturday’s draw to see who we think will be going far into the event in what is the last event of schoolboy rowing for these athletes.
Top Half
Reading Blue Coat School vs Brunswick School USA
Brunswick have come all the way from America to race, and do not have the intention of going home on the first day. This is unfortunate for Blue Coat it must be said, but the Americans are favourites here.
Stowe Sculling Club vs Shiplake College
Stowe are mostly unheard of on the junior domestic eights scene and should struggle to keep up with the top national crew in Shiplake. In what should be a day 2 race between Shiplake and Brunswick, it is too close to call that at this stage.
Dulwich College vs Pangbourne College
Both crews will be please to have been drawn against an unseeded crew, and no doubt this will be a hot fight down the course. Our feeling is that Dulwich will come out on top, especially when they have the free speed of a bucket and the strength of 5 seat Paddy Craig as their engine.
St. George’s College vs Radley College
St George’s were unlucky last year to draw eventual winners Scotch in round one, and it seems yet again this year in facing Radley they will struggle to make it past Wednesday. Radley are a seeded crew and should have no trouble in displacing the winners of Dulwich or Pangbourne the next day.
Winchester College vs Latymer Upper School
Another seeded crew, Latymer are expected to win this one, and should go up against St John’s USA on Thursday to determine who will no doubt face St Paul’s on the Friday for a coveted spot in the weekend’s racing.
The King’s School Canterbury vs Abingdon School
Unfortunately for these two crews, their Henley campaigns will almost certainly not make it past day two as the winner of this race faces a fresh St Paul’s crew on Thursday.
Bottom Half
Shrewsbury School vs Great Marlow School
The seeded Shrewsbury should have no great contest in overturning GMS, and will end up with a good race for them on the second day as they face the winners of Monmouth School vs Canford School. Both of Monmouth and Canford will be pleased to have drawn each other, with a strong opportunity for both to progress past the first day. Remembering that they should face Shrewsbury, it will be a short lived spell however.
Bedford School vs Monkton Coombe School
Bedford are one of the top crews in the draw and should have no trouble in overturning Monkton in their quest to be in the final against St Paul’s. They will have a tough day 2 facing what we believe to be Westminster School, who will have overturned The Oratory School on the Wednesday. Winners of the School 8+ event at Marlow, Westminster have shown their pace despite not being the top-priority crew against their Fawley quad.
Eton College vs Hampton School
In what is a battle of the HUDSON USP 8+s, Eton and Hampton have prestige in rowing spanning decades. Neither crew will want to give even a bowball’s advantage to the opposing crew as they blast out from the safety of Temple Island and into the exposure of whatever wind the course might hold. We think the winners will be Eton, but it will be a hotly contested battle.
Bedford Modern School vs King’s College School
Imagine your crew not being called yet in the draw, and with three races left to announce, two of them contain seeded crews. This is exactly what it was like at the BMS and KCS camps on Saturday, with what must have been a relief when they were not announced to face seeded crews on the first day. KCS should come out on top, with it being the first time they have made it past the first day in a few years. Although they should face Eton in the next round (who knocked them out in 2016), KCS will no doubt leave no stone unturned.
St Joseph’s Nudgee College AUS vs The King’s School Chester
Struggling to judge the pace of the Aussies, Chester will have to blast it off the blocks if they want to keep up with a seeded crew in this first round. It is expected to be a battle of two seeded crews on the second day, as the Aussies line up against what should be St Edward’s School.
This leaves us with races on day 3 of:
Brunswick USA or Shiplake vs Radley
Latymer Upper or St John’s USA vs St Paul’s
Shrewsbury vs Bedford
Eton vs St Josephs Nudgee or Teddies
These races are too close to predict without seeing what times crews post in their initial races in the two days prior. Even then, the times may not be an accurate representation of a crew’s true pace, not all will have to race flat out. We will be covering the junior events throughout the regatta, don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media!
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