Home International Regatta 2015

The 2015 Home International took place at Strathclyde Park over the weekend, with England winning both the senior and junior women’s matches. Scotland won the senior men’s match and Ireland took the junior men’s match.

England had a one-point victory over Wales in a women’s senior team match that was only decided in the last race, when the England eight – a Thames/Henley composite – took second place behind Scotland, but crucially ahead of a third-placed multi-club Welsh composite. The women’s lightweight double and lightweight pair were the only race winners in the English senior women’s team, but vital second places in coxed fours and quad sculls, as well as the eight, made all the difference. Scotland were third and Ireland finished fourth in this match.

As it was for the English women, it was crucial second places that made all the difference for the Scottish senior men. They had victories in lightweight pairs, open pairs and quad sculls through Edinburgh University-based crews. Wales also had four wins – by single sculler Joshua Bugajski from Isis, Cardiff University’s Sam Whittaker and Cardiff City’s Peter Robinson in double sculls, an Isis/Oxford Brookes/ Imperial coxless four, and a composite eight. But five second places for Scotland made all the difference to the points tally. Ireland and England tied for third in the men’s senior match.  

England had a more comfortable time in the women’s junior match, winning six of the seven races involved. Single sculler Charlotte Hodgkins Byrne led the way, and other English victories came through the pair of Millie Dickinson and Amy Bowman from Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth High School, a Shiplake Vikings coxless four, a Weybridge/Reading/Mossbourne Academy coxed four, and a composite eight. Ireland were second in this match, with Scotland third and Wales fourth.

Ireland took the men’s junior match by one point, with victories in the pair, the four and eight plus two second places. England finished second overall while Scotland were third and Ireland fourth.

Match results:

Senior women: England 29 points: Wales 28 pts; Scotland 25pts, Ireland 15 pts.

Senior men: Scotland 33 points, Wales 30 pts, England and Ireland 18 pts.

Junior women: England 26 points, Ireland 19 pts, Scotland 14 pts, Wales 11 pts.

Junior men: Ireland 22 points, England 21 pts, Scotland 15 pts. Wales 12 pts.

More at http://homeinternationalregatta.org/

Report by Mike Haggerty

Photos by Ron Wallace