ROWING/Munich World Cup Regatta: On Friday week, the eye-catching new stadium here - it looks like a giant, squashed, golf ball - will be the centre of the sporting universe. The World Cup soccer kicks off without an Ireland team, but yesterday our top rowing crew ensured that at least one team in green can say they reached a World Cup final in Munich this year.

The remarkable lightweight four won again yesterday, but not as they usually do. As four boats charged towards the line in the semi-final chasing the three qualifying places, the Irish came from behind, first to ensure a place in the top three, and then, right on the line, push Italy into second by 0.24 of a second. The Irish looked fresh as they paddled away, the Italians winded.

Australia, who snatched the third qualification place by 0.23 of a second from Italy's second boat, had set the early pace, before Italy I took it up. The Irish crew of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin were fourth at the 500 metre mark and at halfway.

Towey, sporting a bushy beard - "Ah, I got tired of shaving" - confirmed the crew had not worn themselves out in the late push, but that it was hardly the race they planned. "We'll have to do it differently tomorrow," said the Corkman, smiling.

The final (12.36 Irish time) will see them line up in lane four, with Italy (lane five) and Australia (six) to their left. Germany secured the other favoured lane (three), by winning the second semi-final, another close affair.

Surprise packets China beat Britain into third, and these two will row in lanes two and one respectively.

Ireland's lightweight women's double of Sinead Jennings and Niamh Ní Cheilleachair won their C Final yesterday, but our hopes of a second A finalist disappeared when the heavyweight four could not take a top-three place in their semi-final.

Three of the crew - Con Collis came in for Seán Casey - were returning to the scene of their bronze medal breakthrough last year, but this year they fell in a difficult semi, which was won by Britain, with Canada and Slovenia also making it through.

The Irish four compete in the B Final at 8.24 Irish time today.

Another Irishman, in this case representing Britain, demonstrated fighting qualities yesterday. Coleraine's Alan Campbell qualified for the single sculls final by winning the semi-final impressively.

For the Ireland team the morning session had supported coach Harald Jahrling's thesis that the only way for ambitious athletes to move up to this level is to be thrown into action against the best in the world. While Caroline Ryan had to settle for sixth in the C Final of the single scull, the new men's pair of Seán O'Neill and Seán Casey were visibly improving with each race and finished third in their C final.

Ireland's two lightweight men's doubles were second and third in their D Final, and the under-23 men's four, competing here for experience, gave it a lash before fading to fifth of six in the C final. Jahrling said this could be explained by what he saw as "a fitness problem".

"They're not able to maintain some good pace in three races in a row," he said. But he has time for this young crew, and softened his tone: "Yeah, they keep going. No, that was quite encouraging, what they did."

Encouraging would also describe Jennings and Ní Cheilleachair's emphatic win after another poor start. "They made less mistakes (today)," said Jahrling.

The two athletes were singing from the same hymn sheet. "There are so many things we can work on, being a new crew," said Jennings. "We feel there is so much speed here, we just need to get it right."

Only hard work in a proper structure yields gains at this level, Jahrling believes. "Unfortunately, rowing is cruel. You have to put a lot of work in for little gains."

He used the case of Ryan's debut to make the point. He believes she is well capable of winning events like Women's Henley or big international events below World Cup standard. "But now she can measure herself against the best in the world, and there's nothing better than that.

"Interestingly, I talked to Eugene Coakley yesterday about when they had their first senior race at World Championship or World Cup level, and they got beaten by the Danes by 15 seconds. And they said 'Oh, shit, how will we ever make it'. And look where they are now."