formerflanker
Ken Catchpole (46)
Thanks #7.It’s not a year round sport. That is an urban myth. I have a son who went through the rowing program there for 5 years. He was actively discouraged by the coaches to row in winter when he wanted to join a club. Him and his mates all played rugby - a stack of last years 1st and 2nd viii’s played 1st or 2nds rugby. It’s BS that they row all year.
That's what I had assumed from snippets of talk around the traps, without personal first hand knowledge.
Further to my semi-serious thought about surf boat rowing, the physical preparation of the Shore rowers seems to be perfect given their high number of podium finishes in recent years. Perhaps it's the mental pressure of success that acts as a lead weight in the boat come HoR time and a new head-space is all that needs to be tweaked for top placings to re-emerge.