The rumours proved true: the Irish Amateur Rowing Union have deferred appointing a head coach until after the Olympics. The responsibility of coaching and development until then will be shared between John Holland, who coached the men's lightweight four to an Olympic final four years ago, and Ray Simms, the former British lightweight coach. Neither has yet been given specific responsibilities.
The crews they will eventually work with should be fashioned to a great extent by the trials at Inniscarra which started yesterday with single sculls tests. As expected Albert Maher led home Sean Jacob and Ciaran Lewis in the heavyweight section. Sam Lynch was the fastest lightweight, although he was above racing weight, followed by Niall O'Toole, John Armstrong and Derek Holland.
In the open race Maher beat Lynch by four seconds, with O'Toole two seconds back, followed by Jacob, Lewis and Holland. Today's doubles races will be a litmus test. The sweep rowers will do their own trials this weekend: James Lyndsay-Finn, Neal Byrne, Gearoid Towey and Noel Monahan, who have been rowing as a lightweight four, arrive on the back of achieving a creditable fourth in the London head as the "engine room" of an eight which rowed as Nottingham County.
Tomorrow also sees the eagerly-awaited Gannon Cup race on the Liffey, which will be run from O'Connell bridge to Sean Heuston Bridge - the opposite of the usual route. This should generate a fine atmosphere at the start (2.30, with the novices race at 2.45 and the women's at 3.0).
Last year Trinity had a 13.9 second winning margin as they took their fifth Cup in-a-row, but only Tom Bruxner remains, and as Trinity coach Nick Mahony puts it: "I'm expecting an absolute humdinger of a race."
His opposite number, UCD's Donal Hanrahan, saw his eight do well in Amsterdam last weekend, and he certainly knows how to win the cup, having done so three times as an oarsman (1988 to '90) - with Trinity!
Email: lgorman@irish-times.ie
