NUIG play down three-in-a-row

ROWING:IT HAS been an up-and-down season for domestic rowing, with the petulant weather a constant bother. But even that impish presence may have stepped aside to allow the end-of-season festival that is the National Rowing Championships a good run over the next three days at the National Rowing Centre in Cork.

“It’s a mill pond here. Beautiful,” said Queen’s University coach Mark Fangen-Hall yesterday. “It will never be like this again, I suspect!”

Queen’s played their part in producing two memorable finishes to the championships in the last two seasons – beaten by less than a second by NUIG in two successive seasons in the big one, the men’s senior eights final.

But Fangen-Hall was playing down their chances yesterday: just three of last season’s crew remain, and he says the eight has had very little time together, due to serious illness in the family of one of the crew. “But don’t count chickens,” he said. “We’ll certainly do what we can.”

With Trinity fielding an intermediate crew, the focus switches to UCD to bring down the reigning champions.

Through most of the season, UCD’s big, experienced, crew looked like they were comfortably moving into the favourites’ role. But then they opted not to send an eight to Henley Royal Regatta, and their chosen four were beaten on their first outing after a messy finish – by NUIG/Grainne Mhaol.

The UCD eight, which will be stroked by the experienced Tom Doyle, features the Henley four – Dave Neale, Finnbarr Manning, Gearoid Duane and Seán Jacob – and the hope of their supporters is that they will be driven men, out for revenge.

But what of NUIG? They may now be rowing as NUIG/Grainne Mhaol – a neat way of side-stepping the critics who said former students should not be allowed row under the college name – but they have seven of the crew from last year.

Only Paul Giblin, due to work commitments, is missing, with Liam Molloy coming in. Stroke man James Wall, master of the sprint finish, again leads the crew.

So they must be thinking of a three-in-a-row of big pots? “We are not” says the old head of the crew, coxwain Ruadhan Cooke.

“I know it might sound trite, but somebody mentioned three-in-a-row last summer in the course of celebrations and Paul Giblin said ‘knock that talk on the head’. As soon as you start thinking like that you are getting ahead of yourself. So we’re not.

“We’re thinking of a race that’s going to be a really difficult race. I think that despite the small field it will be the best senior eights race in a long, long time.”

Anybody lucky enough to witness the last two senior eights finals would be thrilled to see a race which tops them.

If that contest is the highlight come Saturday evening, today and tomorrow also have promising match-ups – not least today’s “Henley return match” in the senior fours between UCD and NUIG/Grainne Mhaol. Both have unchanged crews, with Seán Jacob named in the stroke seat of the UCD four, and opting not to defend his senior single sculls title.

That might pass to another big man in Seán Casey of Muckross, or a smaller man with a big engine in 17-year-old Paul O’Donovan of Skibbereen, but the tip here is that John Keohane, a tall, thin, athlete who maintains he is the wrong shape for international heavyweight rowing, but has been peerless at home, will be crowned champion.

Holly Nixon, who will team up with O’Donovan in the Ireland team at the World Junior Championships, should test favourite Monika Dukarska in the women’s senior single. This class has 11 entries – including Laura D’Urso, home from University in the US, and Eimear Moran.