IN setting the pace this season, college rowing has so far managed to avert attention from a perennial failing that leaves today's university eights title an open three way race.
While neither UCD nor Queen's are within a canvass of challenging a Trinity senior eight which this year remains unbeaten over a full race, they may be able to capitalise on Trinity's relative weakness in other departments.
Two wins out of the three eights events are enough to take the Wylie Cup home and the college scenes ever present problem of short crew cycles has this ear caught Trinity's Intermediates simmering and their novices off the boil.
The intermediates foundered a fortnight ago against Queen's. At the Neptune regatta they went out in the first round by 1/4 lengths and the following day they were denied the Commercial Senior III final by the same margin.
Queen's success in both finals that weekend places them as favourites for an intermediate win at Castlewellan. Hoping to keep in contention, UCD have reinforced their crew and effectively conceded the senior race by drafting in Rory Carton, Dennis Headon and last year's Henley semi finalists, Barry Moore and Aidan Mackey, from the senior boat. The new combination has been together for just a week and seem to be getting reasonably well, at least when paddling.
If Queen's Wylie hopes are based on their intermediate strengths, then UCD are fancying their chances in the novice event. It was the novices who delivered UCD's only men's colours success against Trinity and a week later they won at Neptune, beating Queen's along the way by one third of a length.
The fact that UCD stands in the way of both Trinity and Queen's championship ambitions does not sway the captains in their up beat assessments. "Certainly our toughest opposition would be UCD in the novices," concedes Queen's Seamus Linden. "We beat them by 2ft at Commercial and we came close at Neptune but most observers said that we were moving through them at the finish, so on the longer course we should win."
Linden's opposite number in Trinity, John Mohan, is equally confident of taking Queen's on at their own strengths. "Queen's is essentially an intermediate eight club and as far as I know they don't intend to make any serious challenge for the senior title.
"For some reason, our novices haven't got into gear this year but I'd say that our chances for the intermediate are pretty good. UCD are loading their boat with the best they can, likewise with Queens but this course is straight and the last race we had against them we were able clean up on our earlier performance, said Mohan.
If all else fails, though, Trinity may be able to fall back on the competition rules. Everything evens at the end of the day means that they retain the Cup.
The same rules apply for the women's Bank of Ireland trophy, should they be needed. UCDL field a strong senior coxed four which will hope to continue the form they showed at Neptune. Debbie Stack and Vanessa Lawrenson, who last week rowed a time trial to join the Irish contingent in Duisberg, row today with Eithne Tiernan and Rebecca Quinn at stroke.
Trinity women lost last year's trophy after two successive wins and they are confident that their eight crew can give UCD a fight.
They are sticking to an exclusively intermediate formula in the senior fours event which is unchanged from Neptune when they beat the hosts in the semi finals only to lose by two lengths in the final. "We've beaten all the UCD fours except when Debbie and Vanessa have been in their boat but this will be the first time they has raced together as a crew so we have a good chance, said Trinity captain, Claire Magee.
The other half of the Trinity eight will be rowing in the intermediates and UCG may provide the competition there after making both of the Islandbridge finals.
