February 23rd 1998

Cambridge boat has two coxes but no president

Cambridge President David Cassidy announced eight men and two coxes for March 28's Boat Race, but no seat for himself. "The coach's decision is final," said the 22-year-old veteran of last year's epic race which extended Cambridge's winning run to five. "I am one of four men on the bank who could claim a seat, and I am confident we could race with those four, although rightly we have chosen the best eight."

Cassidy caught a bug at the ill-fated Amazon Boat Race last autumn and only fought his way back to fitness in January. Like Oxford's Ed Bellamy in 1997, Cassidy will row in the reserves Isis-Goldie boat race. He becomes the third Cambridge president in recent years to stay out of his own Blue Boat. Quintus Travis did not row in 1986 and John Carver did not row in 1996. Travis's crew, nicknamed The Hell Boat, trounced Oxford and stopped a seemingly endless run of Dark Blue victories. Carver's crew also won in style.

Cambridge's coxing seat will be decided next week between Suzie Ellis, the British women's eight's cox who steered Goldie in 1997, and Alistair Potts who steered Goldie in 1996. Ellis and Potts first encountered one another at the Commonwealth Regatta in 1994 where Potts's Scots women's eight finished fourth behind Ellis's bronze medal English women. Both will have a chance to show their paces against the London lightweights on February 28.

Only two Blues are in the Cambridge crew - the Canadian Brad Crombie who rowed in 1996 and the British international Alex Story who is on a 90-minutes-a-day stretching regime to keep his back injury in order. Newcomers Graham Smith from London University and the Germans Stefan Forster and Marc Weber are internationals.

Oxford come to the stakeboat with five Blues and three internationals in Jurgen Hecht of Germany, Henrik Nilsson of Sweden and Ed Coode of Britain. Nilsson will be the first Swede to take part in the Boat Race. Andrew Lindsay, who became President in October after the Olympic medalist Tim Foster did not return to the university, had fewer men but some impressive talent from whom to pick. Last year's cox Alex Greaney steers, and Oxford's new coach Sean Bowden, formerly of the Cambridge team who turned the tables light blue five years ago, is pleased with each individual and with the progress they have made under his charge.

The 144th Boat Race on March 28th is the twelth and last to be sponsored by Beefeater Gin. The official programme will be published with April's Regatta magazine.

The crews

CAMBRIDGE
Bow side - G.Smith (Westminster, Univ Coll London and St Edmund's), J.G.Bull (RGS Newcastle and Emmanuel), T.J.Wallace (King Edward VI Sch Southampton and Jesus), S.F.Forster (Univ of Dortmund, Germany and Peterhouse), Stroke side - P.A.Cunningham (British Sch of Brussels and Caius), *B.Crombie (McGill Univ, Canada, and Peterhouse), *A.Story (Henley Coll and St Edmund's), M.Weber (Technisch Univ Berlin, Germany, and St Edmund's), Cox from Suzie K.Ellis (Abbots Bromley Sch, Univ of Durham and Homerton) and A.J.Potts (Winchester, Univ of Edinburgh and Trinity Hall).

* Denotes Blue

© Copyright Christopher Dodd, 1998.