Three Irish crews reach semi-finals but eights go out

HENLEY REGATTA:IRISH CLUBS will have three representatives in today's semi-finals of Henley Royal Regatta, with NUIG, Fermoy and the Old Collegians/London composite all comfortable winners yesterday.

The fall of the last remaining Irish eights – UCD in the Temple and Commercial in the Thames – was a disappointment, but there will be at least one Irishman in the final of the Visitors’ Cup, as NUIG take on the Isis crew stroked by Martin Walsh today.

NUIG’s experienced unit duly notched up another no-fuss win. The crew of Cormac Folan, James Wall, Paul Giblin and Alan Martin have been drawing compliments galore, and they found their way past the challenge of New York/ Camp Randall without difficulty, winning by two lengths.

The Isis victory over Army/ Thames was a little more fraught. The Oxford crew, who had to come from behind to win by a foot on Thursday, led all the way yesterday, but their opponents continued to battle well all the way down the course and were only half a length behind at the end.

Walsh said his crew had put in a good start and were not in danger at the finish despite the margin.

But much as the Dubliner would like to win today, he has no illusions as to the task facing him and crewmates Justin Stangel, Sjoerd Hamburger and Colin Kehoe.

“If we row like we did today we won’t beat NUIG,” he said. “NUIG are too much of a class act to let us get away with it.”

Today’s semi sets up a clash of two men who rowed together for Ireland earlier this season. Walsh and Folan, the NUIG bowman, formed the Ireland pair for the first World Cup at Banyoles in Spain at the end of May.

The international experience is also writ large in the London Rowing Club/Old Collegians quadruple scull in the Prince of Wales. Sean Jacob and Con Collis have represented Ireland, and Danny Harte rowed for Britain. James Lindsay-Fynn tops them all: he won a World Championship bronze medal with Ireland in 1999 and gold with Britain in 2007.

This thirtysomething crew were tested, at least in the early stages. The composite of Sir William Borlase’s and King’s School, Ely, disputed the lead early on, but by the three-quarter mile mark Jacob and company had taken a lead they did not relinquish.

They are likely to face a sterner test today against Leander, who have had big victory margins in the first two rounds.

The good run in the Britannia of the Fermoy coxed four, coached by NUIG’s Tom Tuohy, has also been impressive. They had one-and-a-quarter lengths to spare over Glasgow yesterday. They will face another seeded crew, Agecroft, in today’s semi-final.

UCD and Commercial made their exits from the Temple and Thames Cups in contrasting fashions. The college crew found themselves trailing within the first five strokes, and it didn’t get much better. Princeton, a much lighter crew, were fully in control all down the course and won by two-and-a-half lengths.

“It was just terrible, a very bad performance,” said UCD head coach John Holland.

Commercial were hugely disappointed with their exit. They led Molesey at the first big marker, the Barrier, but paid dearly for some steering errors.

Molesey passed them and Commercial failed to match the push and eventually lost by one length.

If the Henley form is to provide a good guide for next weekend’s National Championships, then NUIG are making a good case for favouritism in the senior eights. UCD will have the services of Jacob and Collis in their boat, and Commercial would hope to up their performance, but NUIG have form athletes in both their Visitors’ crew and in Fermoy’s unit.

Dave Mannion has been no slouch in the Diamond Sculls, but his regatta ended in a two-length defeat by fellow Irishman Alan Campbell yesterday. Campbell will meet Olympic champion Olaf Tufte in today’s semi-final. The Coleraine man is so intent on taking this title – it would be his third Diamonds – that he and coach Bill Barry decided he would opt to concentrate on Henley at the expense of next week’s final World Cup regatta at Lucerne.