“It was tough the whole way. Cambridge did an amazing job in always being in the race. They never let go.”
He was right. This was a gruelling, relentless haul, with Cambridge showing extraordinary resilience as they refused to be cowed, refused whatever Oxford did to be thrown off their dogged pursuit, refused to give up. But stronger, cleaner, smoother in their execution, it was the Oxford crew who ultimately prevailed.
Sean Bowden, the Oxford coach, who was recording his 12th victory with the Dark Blues, said: “We knew, if we rowed as we could, that it would take a great boat to beat us.”
Good as they were, it turned out that Cambridge were not great enough.