College crews in battle

ROWING NEWS ROUND-UP:THE SENIOR eights from UCD and NUIG will lock horns tomorrow at the Cork City Regatta at the National Rowing Centre. In what has been a patchy domestic season so far the two have chalked up victories but not met at a regatta, and UCD coach Colm Daly said yesterday he was "looking forward to the showdown".

The two crews could face each other three times in the next eight days. They are set to clash in the deferred Wylie Cup shootout next Friday at Blessington, and at Metropolitan Regatta at the same venue the following day.

Tomorrow's senior eights entry includes Neptune, Shandon and Cork. Fermoy holds it regatta tomorrow. The national trial for lightweight women is also scheduled for Blessington next Friday.

Ireland will send just four crews, all men and all in Olympic classes, to the second World Cup regatta in Lucerne next weekend: the lightweight and heavyweight fours, the pair of Jonno Devlin and Seán Casey and the lightweight double scull of Richard Coakley and Cathal Moynihan.

The appeal by single sculler Seán Jacob against his omission was heard by the board of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union on Tuesday night and rejected.

The Ireland heavyweights competed at the Wedau Regatta in Duisburg at the weekend with a number of podium finishes. Casey and Devlin - with Devlin steering - may have found the form which they will need if they are to nail a place in Beijing at next month's Olympic Qualifier.

Lucerne will not have the huge numbers which competed at the first World Cup at Munich, but Canada and New Zealand come into the picture. Canada's lightweight four were fourth at last year's World Championships, and New Zealand won the men's heavyweight four. The British team has made an enforced change to their heavyweight four, which won at Munich. Colin Smith moves from the stroke seat of the eight to replace Andy Hodge.

The action at Lucerne can have a impact on chances at Beijing, as the World Cup series, plus World Championships of last year, is considered in heat draws for the Olympics.

UKRAINIAN rower Iryna Iarosh has received a two-year ban after failing an out-of-competition doping test in Cairo in December.

IRELAND TEAM (for second World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, May 30th-June 1st): Men Four (J Wall, S O'Neill, C Folan, A Martin); Pair (J Devlin, S Casey); Lightweight Four (E Coakley, G Towey, R Archibald, P Griffin); Lightweight Double (R Coakley, C Moynihan).