Scotch College

All pursuit behind: history at Nagambie

Another piece of Scotch rowing history was created when the 1st VIII crossed the line to win the 140th Head of the River.

Words: Greg Baker • Chairman of Rowing

On a windswept rowing course at Nagambie Lakes, another piece of Scotch rowing history was created when the 1st VIII crossed the line to win the 140th Head of the River, making it four consecutive wins for the School – the first time Scotch has achieved this.

The win capped off a great day for Scotch, having earlier won the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 10C VIIIs, as well as all the Year 9 quad scull events.

1st VIII – favourites

The 1st VIII went into the Head of the River as favourites, but inconsistent form at the national titles meant that a number of other crews saw themselves as having a real chance of winning.

The crew of Simon Brown (bow), Stuart Alexander (2), Peter Cooper (3), John Syme (4), Josh Booth (5), Lachlan McKenzie (6), Lincoln Phillips (7), Martin Lipshut (stroke) and Tom Browne (cox) had won the Victorian Championship Schoolboy VIII title as well as a bronze medal in the NSW Championship Schoolboy VIII event. They had also won at the Barwon Regatta, the Ballarat Regatta and at the Scotch Mercantile Regatta, and were seeded one for the Head of the River.

On Saturday 25 March at Nagambie, a gusty south-west wind was blowing across the course, creating difficult cross headwind conditions and rough water, especially on the open part of the course. The heat saw the Scotch crew take an early lead from Xavier, St Kevin’s and Geelong College. They moved out to nearly a length lead at the 1000-metre mark and came home comfortable winners by over a length from Xavier and Melbourne Grammar. The second heat was won by Geelong Grammar, finishing nearly two lengths ahead of Carey with Haileybury back in third place. Geelong’s faster time than Scotch saw many pundits rate them as favourites for later in the day.

By the starting time of the Head of the River, the wind had increased in strength and crews had great difficulty in getting into the starting bays. The Scotch crew had an excellent start in the wild conditions and led by a third of a length from Xavier through the first 500 metres. The second 500 metres of the race proved decisive, as Scotch raced away to establish a lead of more than two lengths by the halfway stage from Geelong Grammar, with Xavier dropping back in third place. Scotch maintained its lead over the last 1,000 metres, going on to win by 7.16 sec from Geelong Grammar with Xavier a further five seconds back in third place. Carey finished fourth, Melbourne Grammar fifth and Haileybury sixth.

The win was a great reward for the hard work put in by the boys on the river, in the gym and on the ergos. The coach, Jeff Watt, was once again delighted to see his crew over the line first in this time-honoured event.

2nd VIII dominant

The 2nd VIII proved throughout the season to be the fastest of all the Victorian 2nd VIIIs. The only 2nd crew to beat them was King’s School from Sydney, who edged them out of first place at the NSW state titles. A highlight of their season was winning a bronze medal at the national titles in the under 19 VIII, where they were competing against a number of other 1st VIIIs from around Australia.

At the Head of the River they scored a comfortable heat win over Xavier College and Geelong College. In the final, they took an early lead and were never headed. They went on to win by the extraordinary margin of 13.93 seconds from Melbourne Grammar, with Caulfield Grammar in third place.

Our congratulations go to the crew of Alistair Mealin (bow), Matthew Lloyd (2), Tom Sutterby (3), Karl Buchorn (4), Tom Simpson (5), James Sparkman (6), Michael Haines (7), Rob Sartain (stroke), Charlie Houghton (cox) and Tom Woodruff, their coach.

3rd VIII quinella

Two Scotch 3rd VIIIs competed at the Head of the River – one coached by Craig Salisbury and the other by Laura Henderson, who is on a teaching exchange from Eton College in the UK.

Both crews performed well throughout the season and had the measure of the other APS crews.

At the Head of the River, they were drawn in different heats and both were comfortable winners. Craig’s crew, stroked by Rob Sizer, won their heat from Geelong Grammar and St Kevin’s, while Laura’s crew, stroked by Charlie White, won their heat from Melbourne Grammar and Xavier College. The final was a battle out in front between the two Scotch crews, Craig’s crew eventually drawing away to win by 4.37 seconds from Laura’s crew, with Melbourne Grammar a further 18 seconds back in third place. Our congratulations go to both coaches and their crews on such a high standard of performance.

4th VIII quinella

Two Scotch 4th VIIIs had a hard-fought tussle in the 4th VIII final. In the end the crew stroked by Tom Otter scored a narrow win over that stroked by Nick Malon, with Geelong Grammar over 30 seconds behind in third place. Congratulations to the boys and their coaches, James Adams and Howard Sharpe.

Year 10 VIIIs

Although the School did not enjoy quite the success of 2006 at the Year 10 level, the crew nonetheless performed at a very high standard. The Year 10A VIII won a number of races throughout the season, as well as a silver medal at the national titles behind a very strong King’s School crew.

At the Head of the River, they were unable to show their best form in their heat and missed a place in the final. In the B final they showed what they were capable of with an excellent performance, winning the final in a very fast time.

The Year 10B crew battled all season with Melbourne Grammar, who just managed to get the better of them in the A final. The Year 10C crew came from behind to win the 10C division, with our 10D crew in third place and our 10E crew in third place in the B Final.

Our thanks go to all the coaches – Simon Morrison, Bradley Wells, Jeff Thompson, Ed Kitchen, Matt Bernard and Bill Darby. The Year 10 boys have all improved over the season, and they can look forward to being part of some successful Scotch senior crews in the next two years.

Year 9 quad sculls

There were four divisions of Year 9 quad sculls at the Head of the River. A number of the other schools have their Year 9 boys rowing in eights, but at Scotch we believe that it is better for the boys’ long-term development to row in quad sculls at this level.

This year, five other schools entered quad sculls. The Scotch crews continued to set the standard, winning all four divisions. The first division was a high-quality race between the three top Scotch crews, who all performed well in the difficult conditions. The other divisions were all won by Scotch crews against other schools, including St Kevin’s College, Melbourne Grammar, Wesley College, Caulfield Grammar and Carey Grammar.

Our thanks to all the coaches who have made such a fine contribution to the boys’ education, and to the only Scotch teacher who coaches at that level, Jan Honnens.

Cardinal Club

The Cardinal Club, under the inspiring leadership of Geoff Bell, has done a wonderful job of supporting Scotch rowing in the past 12 months. At the conclusion of the Head of the River regatta, all the crews were presented to the Scotch supporters and medals were presented to each member of each winning crew, including both 3rd and 4th VIIIs. Our thanks also go to the newly-elected Chairman of the Scotch College Council, Mr David Crawford, for making these presentations.

The hard work and support of our boatmen, Bob Lachal and Josh Frichot, is another important part of Scotch’s success, and for that we are most grateful. With the increased number of boys rowing and the high standard of skill that they exhibited at Nagambie, we can look forward to further success in coming years.