The weather turned out to be a lot better than anticipated. I think as a crew we underestimated the difference that a shorter course would make but it played no part in our loss. We were beaten by a stronger crew.
The race began as it would end – with Trinity leading. We had a relatively decent start from my perspective but Trinity still led off the blocks. We made pushes at various points in the course but they yielded little results in terms of impact on Trinity’s lead as they continued to hold on and resists the pushes. The lack of effectiveness was no doubt in part due to our cohesion issues but Trinity must be congratulated on maintaining their composure where we did not. Whether it was that they never felt threatened or are just a mentally strong unit remains to be seen.
Throughout the course I would have put us at between half and three quarters of a length behind – gaining and losing ground intermittently as the race progressed. Never falling off completely but not being able to summon what was required to make the push through to take any sort of a lead, even temporarily.
The race ended with us trailing by between half and three quarters of a length, though I am unsure of the precise margin as recorded.
In the Novice Race – the UCD girls started well and put some distance between themselves and Trinity. However, UCD thereafter allowed Trinty to come back into it and were punished accordingly. It was an exciting race to watch but undoubtedly a heartbreaking result for the UCD girls as when Trinity pushed through them they managed to push away and there was a large distance in it come the line. Trinity’s fitness and perseverance prevailed as they demonstrated that Novice Crews can have the mental strength to come back.
Once again I extend my congratulations to Emma Jacob and her girls for a job well done.
