Since the establishment of their rowing programs in 1859 and 1860, respectively, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney have shared a fierce rivalry. Over the years, the two institutions have clashed on the Yarra River, with the first women’s race taking place as a coxed four in 1920. Since 2009, the rivalry has taken the form of the Australian Boat Race, which will be held on Sunday, 19 October. The course this year has been shortened to 3200 metres, following an incident on the first corner in the Men’s race two years ago. It will run from Herring Island in South Yarra to the Melbourne University Boat Club (MUBC) sheds, located on the Yarra in the centre of the city. With several bends, bridges, and the flow of the river, the race in Melbourne hinges on the skill of the coxswain to guide their crew to the finish line along the fastest possible line. It is also important to note that all athletes in the crew must be current or former undergraduate or master’s students of their respective universities, with a maximum of two alumni permitted to race per crew. The women’s race this year promises to be thrilling, with two boats filled with talent and experience.
Melbourne University
This year, the University of Melbourne has fielded an eight with experience alongside young talent. Coxing the boat is the Australian Women’s Eight coxswain from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Rowing Championships, Hayley Verbunt, whose experience on home water will give her a competitive edge over the tricky Yarra River. She is joined by Eliza Gaffney and Romy Cantwell, who raced the four and single, respectively, in Shanghai last month. The crew also contains several competitors from previous under-23 World Rowing Championships, with Zara Lavery from this year’s coxless four and Sara de Uray from 2023’s coxless four, who have each raced this event several times and will be looking for their first win. As members of MUBC for several years, Gaffney, Lavery, Cantwell, and de Uray will be very comfortable racing a boat together, especially at home on the Yarra.
The aforementioned Australian representatives are joined by both young talent and experience. Melbourne University will be hoping that alumni and two-time Olympian Sarah Hawe will provide the experience to back the young entries in the boat, Leila Hucker and Francesca Spano, who are each racing their first Australian Boat Race. Meg Cartwright will also bring considerable domestic experience as a sculler to the boat, having raced the single many times down this stretch of the Yarra River; she will know the critical points of the course.
Since its inception in 2009, the race has been won eight times by Melbourne University and six times by Sydney University, with the last three events going to Sydney University. I expect that this strong Melbourne University crew will be hungry to get away from Sydney University early in the race.
Sydney University
Reigning champions Sydney University have also put together an exceptionally strong crew this year. Notably, three representatives from the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Eleanor Price, Jamie Ford, and Emily Sheppard. Adding to the big names are U23 representatives Olivia Nattey and Tiffany Botha. Similarly to the Melbourne University crew, many of these athletes have spent considerable time training together either at Sydney University Boat Club or the Women’s National Training Centre. Given this time together, they should be able to be highly effective in this combination.
Joining these national team athletes are a host of athletes who have been regulars on the National Championships medal dias. In particular, Sophia Wightman and Stefanie Preller teamed up in the U23 Women’s Eight this year, securing a bronze medal. Finally, Alice Macready and coxswain Chloe Jureta round out the crew. These two were also strong in the U21 events at the Australian Championships, will be looking to prove themselves in unfamiliar conditions by taking down Melbourne University and continuing the Sydney University stranglehold on the event.
Prediction
This year’s Women’s Boat Race is exceptionally close, with two boats full of Australian Representatives and young talent, making a prediction exceptionally difficult. On one hand, Hayley Verbunt’s experience steering the Melbourne University boat on home waters is an undeniable advantage; however, the young athletes in the Sydney University boats have achieved stronger results over the last 12 months than those in the Melbourne University boat.
I expect these two crews to fight hard early in the race, with whichever crew on the north station to take a slight lead around the first corner. However, the tricky Cremorne Railway Bridge is likely to take both crews off their racing line, with the Melbourne University crew likely to take a slight lead due to Verbunt’s experience. However, in the latter stages of the race, the depth of Sydney University’s young guns should give them the edge over the home favourites, likely leading to Sydney University beating Melbourne University over the line by less than a length to retain the Bella Guerin Trophy.
Despite my prediction, this race is exceptionally close, making it one to watch on Sunday for the fantastic duel about to unfold.
