Issue 104 - December 1997

Dark blue topguns waste the ammo

It was tempting fate to christen Oxford's trial eights Iceman and Maverick. Iceman, stroked by Nick "Val Kilmer" Robinson, won, but you could argue that Henrik "Tom Cruise" Nilsson had a claim on the moral victory with Maverick after they were stopped in their tracks when James Roycroft in the No 6 seat lost his oar and bent his outrigger. The race was restarted half way between Putney and Mortlake, but Roycroft was forced to dig too deep by his damaged equipment and Iceman romped home three and a half lengths to the better.

In truth neither crew gained anything in this rumbustuous Top Gun competition. Maverick's cox Neil O'Donnell, an American experiencing his first Tideway encounter against the much more experienced Alex Greaney who steered this year's Blue Boat, obtained the best of the first mile on the Middlesex station. During a serious clash near Harrods he was hit by a blade, perhaps poetic justice in that his steering was to blame although Greaney was getting it verbally in the neck from the inexperienced umpire. Nilsson lost his blade in this one, recovered, and quickly had his crew back on terms at Hammersmith Bridge, which both crews passed under in the wrong place and at the wrong angle. Soon after this they hit rough water and then each other, the race was stopped, and coach Sean Bowden's comments were unprintably direct.

Bowden, new to Oxford this year and with last year's coach Rene Mijnders and coaching director Daniel Topolski in attendance, sent the crews out again in the afternoon with instructions to race each other from Hammersmith to Putney without touching. They were evenly matched and may contain some excellent talent among the five Blues and new internationals Nilsson of Sweden and Jurgen Hecht of Germany, but they didn't give themselves the chance to show it.

© Copyright Christopher Dodd, 1997.