The Pairs Head of the River Race, hosted by the Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club, offers crews a valuable chance to gauge their speed at the beginning of the season, even with the fact that most clubs soon transition to eights for summer racing. The technical understanding needed in the pair, coupled with the often unpredictable waters of the Tideway, promises an exciting contest. This year’s Junior Men’s 18 Pairs event has drawn 16 entries, with nine of them coming from Tideway-based clubs St Paul’s School Boat Club and Westminster School Boat Club, with Kingston Grammar School Boat Club and others also represented.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
St Paul’s School Boat Club is definitely one of the favourites coming into this year’s Pairs Head of the River. Following a 2024-25 campaign that, though successful, still leaves scope for them to reclaim their place at the summit of Junior Rowing, Bobby Thatcher’s athletes will be determined to open the new season on a strong footing. St Paul’s has a good record in the Pairs Head of the River, and has five pairs entered. Furthermore, training on the Tideway stretch allows them to perfect their racing line with ease. Amongst the pairs they have entered is the Tans-Daffey pair, who sat in three and four of last year’s first eight, respectively. Another standout pair from last year’s first eight is the Martin-Miles pair, which is second in the starting order. The rest of their pairs are made up of combinations from last year’s J16 first eight, which won the National Schools’ Regatta by three seconds. St Paul’s will be looking to make a statement at this event, aiming to claim as many podium positions as possible.
Westminster School Boat Club
Westminster School Boat Club has been producing quality student crews for a long time. However, last season they took a slight step back from this reputation, placing 12th at the National Schools’ Regatta. They will be looking to turn the tide back in their favour, and similarly to St Paul’s, being able to train daily on the Tideway will help them to practice for this race. With four pairs entered, all Westminster School BC entries are comprised of their first eight from last year. The top pair from Westminster will likely be Frye-Petrow, the third junior pair on the draw, with the members sitting in the five and six of Westminster’s eight last year, respectively.
Kingston Grammar School Boat Club
Kingston Grammar School Boat Club could easily pose a threat to the two tideway clubs boating in front of them. Their two pairs, Byatt-Kapinos and Plouvier-Brackin, are all from their J16 first coxed four, which competed together last year. Achieving ninth place at NSR will inspire these boys to push the older, more experienced crews alongside whom they are racing. These pairs, with clear racing experience as a collective, could be placed well to disrupt the crews above them at the front end of the race.
Walton Rowing Club
Howells-Heffernan from Walton Rowing Club definitely have the potential and combined experience to do well, having raced together all of last year in the pair. They were also selected to be the home international pair for England, winning the event again, which further highlights that this pair could be a force to be reckoned with. With greater experience and time together as a pair, Walton could become a strong underdog contender this weekend.
Other Clubs
Though St Paul’s School BC and Westminster School BC take up the bulk of the entries, there are also crews from Winchester College Boat Club and Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club, however, the latter has scratched before the draw.
Prediction
It is difficult to look past St Paul’s School Boat Club as favourites for the top of the podium. The real question, however, lies in which of their leading pairs will prevail. After Miles’ Scullers Head victory last weekend, the top choice would lean towards the Martin-Miles pair. However, close on their heels may be Westminster School’s Frye-Petrow pairing. The outcome, as ever, remains to be seen.
