Oriel Look To Keep Head
"I Can't Stand The Rain," seems to be the anthem of most rowers, following the traditional Hilary downpours. With the red flag flying proudly over the Isis in the run up to Torpids, everyone is now wondering whether the chaos of last year will be repeated - two days of practice starts followed by a festival of bumps on fit but inexperienced crews.
The limited training of last year saw some big winners and losers in the bumps charts. Big losers were Keble's second Torpid (dropping down 10), and St Peter's first Women's Torpid (down 12): these and other clubs will now be looking to make amends.
The last 3 weeks have seen crews searching for training venues, as much of the Thames has been unrowable. Venues such as Wallingford and Radley have been flooded, with crews forced to train further afield on the Tideway, and at Eton's new man-made course at Dorney.
Last year saw changes in the headship for men and women. In the traditional battle at the top of the men's divisions, Oriel bumped Pembroke on Wednesday and rowed over to gain blades last year. This year's Oriel outfit still look the crew to beat, despite losing to Teddy Hall in fours last term.
The women's headship may be a more interesting battle. Catz gained the headship from New last year, but are rebuilding now, while New women won Christ Church novices last term and may have real strength in depth.
Meanwhile, a powerful Merton crew will be looking to translate recent successes at Bedford into a push for the headship, having risen five to third last year. The first day's racing may be tightly contested, with Somerville also displaying strength in depth at Nephthys starting fourth.
Lower down, Keble 2 will be gunning for blades after winning Christ Church, and Catz 2 have something to prove after a controversial disqualification last term. Brasenose men, on the slide for several years, seem to have turned the corner with a surprise win at Nephthys regatta and Osler-Green women return after not defending the headship last year, looking to gain on several fast crews ahead of them.
1.Oriel 2.Pembroke 3.Exeter 4.Christ Church 5.New College 6.St Catz 7.Magdalen 8.Worcester 9.Lincoln 10.Wadham 11.Brasenose 12.LMH
21st Feb 2002