ROWING/National Selection Trials:The Ireland team for the World Cup regattas will be completed this weekend after the second national selection trials, which begin today at the National Rowing Centre at Farran Wood in Cork.
Trinity's regatta tomorrow in Dublin will have music, food, drink and beautiful sunshine for the spectator. But the intensity of competition in Cork will be far hotter, under the strict eye of Ireland coach Harald Jahrling.
The three senior crews to be chosen - the men's and women's lightweight double scull, and a women's heavyweight single or double - look far from nailed down, although Jahrling says he has a good idea what he is looking for.
Last year Tim Harnedy and Richard Coakley teamed up, without great success, in the men's lightweight double. Coakley has moved up into the lightweight four and Harnedy is unavailable, nursing an injury, leaving the way open for a completely new crew.
The brothers Mac Colgain, Diarmaid and Siaghal, have shown keen ambition, having spent six months in Australia training to be ready for this challenge. Danny O'Dowd, Cathal Moynihan, Dave Heffernan, Ger Ward and Liam Molloy have been staking their claims in early-season activities.
Ward and Molloy, who has posted impressive ergometer scores, are both just 20. Jahrling will also choose under-23 crews this weekend, and along with a heavyweight four he may pick a lightweight double, and this duo could come into the reckoning.
In the women's lightweight double, Niamh Ní Cheilleachair partnered the outstanding Sinéad Jennings last year to seventh place in the world. Jennings may well be Ireland's fittest female athlete, and is a certain pick. Ní Cheilleachair, who collapsed at last month's trials, has rivals in Siobhán McCrohan and Orlagh Duddy.
Caroline Ryan went all they way to last year's World Championships as a single sculler. But earlier in the season the Garda had formed a double with Helen Walshe which impressed Jahrling, only for Walshe to suffer an injury which ruined her season.
Walshe went to Greece to train this year, but the likeable UCD woman has had fluctuating fortunes, and it will be interesting to see if she is again teamed with Ryan come Sunday. Virginia Hourihane and Heather Boyle also compete in this class.
At the first selection regatta last month Jahrling gave his imprimatur to the existing men's heavy four and single sculler Sean Jacob.
His selection for the men's lightweight four also followed expected lines, given that former world champion Sam Lynch had not made himself available.
Jahrling has had two seasons of palpable success since he took up his present post.
He believes that the absence of Lynch, who never came into his system, nor Gearóid Towey and Tim Harnedy, who both competed last year, will weaken Ireland's challenge in a year in which the aim is to qualify boats for Beijing in 2008.
