The final big test in the pre-Henley regatta series, part of the Dorney triumvirate that includes the Wallingford and Metropolitan Regattas, is upon us: Marlow Regatta.
As a precursor to Henley, this is by far the best gauge of relative speed. The crews here are right at their peak and are mostly settled into the lineups competing for the coveted trophies at the Royal Regatta in just a couple of weeks. The breadth of the championship category is enormous, encompassing the best university, club and school crews nationwide. Racing should, as always, be fierce, with a number of grudge matches playing out across the category.
In my last preview, I looked at the championship eights at the Metropolitan Regatta. There, racing largely panned out as expected, with some notable exceptions. As always, for this preview, I’ll look in-depth at the crews that I believe will be the ‘major players’ in this event, before offering a prediction for the A-final crews and a top-three finish order. You’ll note that there are several more school crews that I’m previewing here than university crews; this reflects the fact that, on the whole, the depth of the junior field is incredibly strong. At the Metropolitan Regatta just a couple of weeks ago, in the A and B finals, there were as many school programmes (Hampton, St Paul’s and Latymer) as there were university programmes (Cambridge, Oxford Brookes and Durham). It’s a real testament to the strength of junior rowing across the UK, and it should give several university programmes something to think about.
Bedford School Boat Club
Buoyed, perhaps, by the online celebrity of their own ‘3V’, Bedford have been dark horses of the championship category all year. An eighth-place finish at the Schools’ Head of the River gave rise to better showings in the regatta season. Beating Eton at Wallingford Regatta will have given Bedford ample confidence going into the National Schools’ Regatta, and that confidence was rewarded with a spot in the A-final, where they put in a good showing to finish virtually level with Hampton. This is clearly a strong unit from Bedford, taking the programme into a territory it hasn’t seen in recent years. If they can capitalise on their current momentum, I could see them continuing to take impressive scalps in the run-up to Henley Royal Regatta.
Durham University Boat Club
Durham are mounting a pretty serious challenge for The Temple Challenge Cup this year, having emerged as the main challenger to the Brookes hegemony at BUCS. Their silver medal was a strong result, and they will leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of Henley Royal Regatta glory. They had a bit of a disappointing day at the Metropolitan Regatta to narrowly lose out on an A-final place, in a time trial that saw significantly shifting wind conditions. Their time-trial time was only a second behind the Oxford Brookes Temple crew, though – a tantalisingly tight margin. In the A-final, Brookes were last, while Durham came out at the top of the B-final. It’s promising for a very tight matchup at Marlow that might lend some clarity as to who will be coming into The Temple Challenge Cup as the favourite (though that’s neglecting, of course, the Cambridge ‘Goldie’ crew that was the fastest university crew at Metropolitan, one second ahead of Brookes in the A-final). This Durham boat has significant strength and depth, with the likes of Charlie Warren, ex-Princeton Tiger Lachlan Toovey, Norwegian import Frederik Reite, and the talented youngster William Morgan-Jones. I may be wrong, but I have a feeling they’ll be able to get the better of Brookes at Marlow – the momentum appears to be with the Palatinate.
Hampton School Boat Club
Hampton have had a strong season under the excellent leadership of Josh Butler. They’ve shown some excellent speed throughout, spurred on by a talented second VIII that showcases the admirable depth of the programme. The National Schools’ Regatta was a difficult day: in the first run of the championship eights final, wash from a launch up ahead stopped Hampton in their tracks, dropping them well off the pace. In the re-run, they fought valiantly against a St Paul’s unit with a point to prove, and were again denied a medal. At the Metropolitan Regatta, they produced a blistering time trial to come home ninth overall, well ahead of St Paul’s and just a fraction of a second off beating the Brookes Temple crew into the B-final. However, things didn’t go Hampton’s way in the final; they struggled with the pace from the start and were ultimately beaten by Latymer Upper. A bit inconsistent, then, from Hampton – but there’s no doubt these guys have much potential. A solid showing at Marlow will be an essential step in building confidence.
Leander Club
Leander had a strong showing at the Metropolitan Regatta to take home second, well ahead of the Brookes crew they will likely face in The Ladies’ Challenge Plate at Henley Royal Regatta. Despite a challenging winter season, the ‘Pink Palace’ have picked up significant speed in recent weeks; their Metropolitan result followed a great showing at Ghent, where they pulled off a four-second win over the Polish National Team. This is a strong boat, with the likes of Brookes graduate Jack Prior, who has several Henley Royal Regatta and U23 victories to his name; Boat Race winner Kenny Coplan, Head of the River Race winner Levin Graf, former Northeastern Husky Alex Abulhoff, and French Olympian Thibuad Turlan. Given their recent results, they are entered here as favourites. The question will be whether Brookes can step on from their performance at the Metropolitan Regatta. Given their institutional pedigree at the sharp end of the season, I would expect the gap to close.
Latymer Upper School
Latymer have had a decent season thus far. Punching above their weight, they’ve produced consistent results that have always put them within touching distance of some of the bigger names in the championship field. Had the National Schools’ Regatta been held at Dorney, using the full eight lanes, they would’ve been an A-final crew; in the end, they settled for second in the B-final behind an Eton crew that was, presumably, fairly shocked to be there. The real surprise came a week later, at the Metropolitan Regatta, where Latymer beat Hampton in the B-final to go home as the second-fastest school crew of the day, behind St Paul’s. It was a great result – the question is, will it lead to a momentum shift that might carry Latymer closer to the top of the pack?
London Rowing Club
London seem to be well on their way towards rectifying the wrongs of last season, where their Thames Challenge Cup crew, probably the favourite in the event, suffered a brutal defeat to Thames in the semifinal. Their result at the Metropolitan Regatta – third overall, just three seconds behind Leander’s Ladies’ crew and four seconds ahead of their arch-rivals, Thames – further indicates that these guys mean business. They have already had several successes recently, including a second-place finish behind a strong Brookes boat at Poplar. Many of the guys in this boat – Sean O’Mahony, Calum Jenkins, Ben Dickens, Laurence O’Connor and cox Rosie Margolis – tasted bitter defeat a year ago; they will be very keen not to make the same mistakes. That being said, London had an incredibly impressive showing at Marlow last year, completely blowing Thames out of the water, only to have the result reversed a couple of weeks later. I think these guys will beat Thames at Marlow – and will probably come pretty close to Leander in the process – but, as we know, at Henley Royal Regatta, anything can happen.
Molesey Boat Club
Molesey haven’t shown their faces much this season, but they’re worth a look here based on their win in club eights at Wallingford Regatta in early May. For a club that used to produce many of the country’s top oarsmen, Molesey aren’t competing at the same level as they were a decade ago, though they did, of course, take home The Thames Challenge Cup in 2022. I don’t think this current crop of Molesey athletes will be able to repeat that feat, but nonetheless, they are a strong crew and will have their sights firmly on the Thames and London entries.
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club
The troubled season that Oxford Brookes is currently experiencing has undoubtedly manifested in results that, for a programme of its stature, feel a little off the pace. That’s not to say that Brookes has been having a terrible season – they’re still BUCS gold medallists, performed admirably at the Head of the River Race, and place a host of boats at the top of any event they enter. But the very top end is undoubtedly under threat. Who can remember the last time a top Brookes eight wasn’t outright favourites going into one of these pre-Henley regattas? This top boat, featuring many familiar faces – Toby Lassen, who just earned his first senior vest at World Rowing Cup I, Jamie Copus, the Arnerich brothers and Temple winner Ed Lemanowicz to name a few – was well beaten by Cambridge, Leander and London at the Metropolitan Regatta. Their Temple eight, again featuring several Henley Royal Regatta winners, was pushed right to the bottom of the A-final, behind the Cambridge second eight. Undoubtedly, they’ll be back with a vengeance here, and I imagine that in Cambridge’s absence, the eight student-athletes will come away as the fastest university crew. While the top eight should make the podium, I think it will probably be in third. Still, it would be foolish to underestimate Brookes. There’s no shortage of depth here, and no shortage of winning experience. Can they claw their way back to the top?
Radley College Boat Club
The National Schools’ Regatta silver medallists, Radley have enjoyed an auspicious regatta season thus far after a head season that produced middling results. This boat has plenty of power, and it seems to be much better utilised in these shorter races. A win at Wallingford Regatta in the junior eights set the tone for Radley’s summer racing, and they’ve shown no sign of slowing down. Under the new stewardship of Patrick Duggan, the programme clearly has a new lease of life, and they’ll be looking to finally capture the trophy that’s been narrowly eluding them for some time: The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Marlow will be a crucial test as they face down the might of Shiplake, and go up once again against St Paul’s, whom they only narrowly beat at the National Schools’ Regatta.
St Edward’s School Boat Club
The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup winners from 2023, St Edward’s have been performing relatively consistently this season but have been unable to recapture the magic that propelled them to the Henley Royal Regatta title two years ago. They’ve been nipping at the heels of St Paul’s, Radley and Shiplake, but have yet to overhaul any of them, running St Paul’s close only in the heat at Wallingford early last month. There’s a lot of talent in this crew, and I think they’ll have their ambitions set high; with a good race this weekend, they could indeed cause an upset.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Are Shiplake the new kings of British junior rowing? Their result at the National Schools’ Regatta would certainly suggest so. Shiplake came to Nottingham with a point to prove after a narrow defeat to St Paul’s in the heat at Poplar Regatta the weekend prior. An electric time trial performance put Shiplake at the top of the pile coming into a choppy, lane-y final, where they could stretch out quickly to an unassailable lead. The Shiplake boys looked calm, composed, and clinical as they drew away from the rest of the field, eventually winning the final with a healthy amount of clear water and finally bringing home the championship eights trophy. The Shiplake women had also won their final, making it a golden day for the Shiplake senior squad. This boat has a ton of strength and talent, many of whom joined Shiplake in the sixth form, coming under the wing of the talented Dave Currie and Hugh Mackworth Praed. Together, they produce a pretty formidable unit, finally bucking the trend of Shiplake boats outperforming the field at the Schools’ Head of the River and underperforming in the regatta season. Can they hang on for Henley Royal Regatta? Their showing at Marlow will clearly indicate how things are running post-Nottingham. I think these guys will be hard to beat if they can keep the momentum up.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
After a difficult day at the National Schools’ Regatta that saw the mighty St Paul’s School handed a shock defeat by both Shiplake and Radley, the Bobby Thatcher-coached crew has thrown itself back into the fold with vigour. At the Metropolitan Regatta time-trial, there would’ve been some concern for the Tideway-based programme – a 12th place finish, five seconds behind a Hampton crew that St Paul’s had overcome twice in Nottingham to earn the bronze medal. Wind had undeniably played a factor in the time trial results, however, and in the B-final, St Paul’s had a strong row to take third, just a few seconds behind Durham and seven seconds ahead of Hampton. It was a promising result for St Paul’s, extending their lead over Hampton from the National Schools’ Regatta, and proving that they are still a force to be reckoned with against bigger, older crews. However, they will know that they need to keep stepping on, and at Marlow, there will be the added pressure of facing down both Shiplake and Radley. This race will be key for St Paul’s – it could either prove that the National Schools’ Regatta was a one-off, a bad day, or it could make clear that, at this stage, St Paul’s has indeed slipped from the top spot on the junior rowing circuit. Plenty of stakes here.
Thames Rowing Club
The early-season speed that Thames showed over London, in races like the Boustead Cup and the Head of the River Race, has seemed to wane in recent weeks. This boat, featuring several strong athletes – Max Deering, the former St Paul’s School and Dartmouth oarsman, and Josh Burke, the U23 international, to name a couple – were well beaten by London at the Metropolitan Regatta, coming home sixth. They will be particularly smarting from the narrow loss to Leander’s second VIII, the ‘Cuppies’ crew formed mostly of gap year students (a market that Thames has generally had a bit of a monopoly on in recent seasons). Thames are nothing if not very, very good at peaking for Henley Royal Regatta, and I expect this row at Marlow to be a step on from their Metropolitan performance, even if it does not result in a win over London; that might have to wait for a couple of weeks’ time.
Other crews
There’s plenty of strength elsewhere in the category, with a number of university crews – Edinburgh, UL, Imperial and King’s College BC from the University of Queensland – fighting it out in ongoing preparations for The Temple Challenge Cup. Other international competition comes in the form of the Green Lake juniors from the USA. Elsewhere in the junior category, watch out for King’s College School, and, of course, Eton College, who will be desperate to prove that their National Schools’ Regatta result was just a blip. Marlow and Vesta should put up a good fight amongst the club entries.
Prediction
With eight spots in the A-final up for grabs, it’s tricky to offer a definitive prediction. I think there are clearly a few safe bets – Leander (A and B, though Leander B is not entered in championship), London, Oxford Brookes A and B, and Thames should all make it. That leaves two spots left for other crews. A hard one to call, but I will go with Durham and Shiplake.
The top three: Leander, London, Oxford Brookes.
Best of luck to all crews.
Five Man
