NEPTUNE'S SENIOR women installed themselves as firsts among a division of near equals at the end of a weekend in Islandbridge which saw two largely Leinster based regatta entries attempting to make some order out of the fast developing title chases.
With the sprint season now in its second week, the women's Senior One eights already appear to be unfolding as a four-way drama. Barely a boat length separates the leading crews at their full strength and after snatching victory from UCG at the opening regatta, Neptune can claim some consistency with wins over UCDL and Trinity on home waters.
Building on last year's crew, Neptune have gained in power over the closed season and, according to their stroke Lonika Bolland, the new Eton-built eight is probably moving a length faster over the Islandbridge course.
The difference was significant in the one-and-a-half-length win over the once formidable UCDL at the start of the weekend and proved more decisive when Neptune needed to push through Trinity on the final bend during yesterday's Commercial regatta.
"UCD are still very confident and even when they are behind they are difficult to kill off. We had a messy start against Trinity but I think overall the crews are much closer in terms of speed this year and there's nothing cut and dried yet," said Bolland.
By contrast, Neptune's senior men were hardly challenged even by a scratch `B' lined-up that included three of last year's Olympic lightweight four; Tony O'Connor, Neville Maxwell and Derek Holland. The win on Saturday only 5 underline Trinity's current weakness in the eights with a senior squad too small to regularly fill the seats.
The lack of depth was all the more obvious when Trinity's coxed four showed their under-23 international quality to leave Neptune a half a length down after the first 60 strokes of Saturday's final and beat UCD in yesterday's. With both colleges already looking to strengthen their squads for the next season, two junior scullers from Belfast were fielding off scholarship offers.
Methody's John Murray, who recently won sponsorship from, Laganside for his place on the junior international squad, made an early impression by beating quad rival Owen Byrne in the junior 18 singles sculls by a length. Murray and Gareth Corry, from RBAI, beat the Commercial sculler again in the doubles and completed the hat trick with a three-length victory over lightweight champion Lar Collins and Moseley's Magnus Burbanks.
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