ROWING/The Boat Race: Oxford and Cambridge will start the 148th Boat Race this afternoon with a huge tide rolling up behind them. With a light southerly wind following them for the first mile and a half the race should be a corker.
With two finely balanced crews the key factor is the nerve of the coxes. Oxford's Peter Hackworth is from St Paul's School and Cambridge's Eleanor Griggs is from St Paul's Girls, so the course is their home water.
Cambridge are faster off the start in terms of stroke rate. If Griggs gets them off straight, they could be two seats ahead in the first minute but the next step is crucial: settling down to 35 strokes a minute without choking their initial boat speed. It is all about letting the boat run freely.
Oxford come to the stake boat with a stronger crew than last year's, which lost narrowly, and with Matt Smith at stroke for a second time. Three others have done the Putney to Mortlake race before: the bowman Andrew Dunn and Ben Burch and Robin Bourne-Taylor at numbers six and seven.
They are completed by the United States internationals Dan Perkins and Luke McGee at numbers four and five, the Dutch international Gerritjan Eggenkamp at number three and Basil Dixon at number two. Their power is not in question but the clutch has a tendency to grate at times.
Cambridge's answer to Smith in the stroke seat is Rick Dunn, a world champion in coxless fours, who cuts an imposing figure in dark glasses, very much the man in charge. He and Oxford's bow are cousins.
Dunn, Tom Stallard in the bow seat and the 6ft 9in Josh West at number five all row for Britain, Sam Brooks at number two has stroked Harvard and rows for the United States, Seb Mayer at number four is a German international and Stuart Welch at number seven is an Australian Olympic medallist. James Livingston at number three is an under-23 international and the second Australian Lukas Hirst is a Henley winner. Dunn, Stallard, West and Hirst are all previous performers.
The light blues have the Cambridge hallmark of fine control, running through the changing conditions and gears like a superbly engineered automatic car.
The series stands at Cambridge 77, Oxford 69, with one dead heat, but Cambridge have won eight of the last nine races.
The rival coaches exchanged some friendly blows as the build-up to the race gathered momentum. Oxford coach Sean Bowden has expressed his surprise at his opposite number's prediction that the Dark Blues will be favourites for the 148th annual tussle on the Thames tideway. He suspects that some not-so-subtle mind games are being played and has urged his crew to take no notice of their favourites tag.
"I think it rather suits Cambridge to be considered the underdogs," said Bowden. "But I'm not falling for it and I don't think many other people will. They've won eight of the last nine races and have six internationals in their eight including two Olympians." However, Cambridge head coach Robin Williams insists: "I still believe that Oxford are the form crew."
At a recent trial race Oxford nearly beat a Leander eight that included Olympic champions Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, both race old-boys for Oxford and Cambridge respectively.
OXFORD: AGG Dunn* (Lincoln) 14st 6lb, BG Dixon (Pembroke) 14st 6.5lb, AG Eggenkamp (Keble) 14st 10.5lb, DB Perkins (Brasenose) 15st, LW McGee (Oriel) 15st 9.5lb, BJ Burch* (Pembroke) 15st 1lb, REG Bourne-Taylor* (Christ Church) 13st 11lb, MJ Smith* (St Catherine's) 12st 14lb, Cox: PEP Hackworth (Oriel) 8st 8.5lb. Average: 14st 8.25lb.
CAMBRIDGE: TA Stallard* (Jesus) 13st 9.5lb, SW Brooks (St Edmund's) 14st 4lb, JA Livingston (St Catharine's) 14st 13lb, S Mayer (Caius) 13st 13lb, AJ West* (Caius) 15st 6.5lb, LP Hirst* (St Edmund's) 14st 7lb, ST Welch (St Edmund's) 14st 2lb, RCEC Dunn* (St Edmund's) 15st 1.5lb, Cox: EL Griggs (Robinson) 8st 9lb. Average: 14st 7lb.
* denotes blue
