NORTHWICH Rowing Club were left to curse their luck after two of their crews were pitted against each other in the draw for Henley Royal Regatta, writes Matt Turner.

They meet in the Fawley Challenge Cup first round this afternoon.

A junior men’s quad scull of Rhys Coffey, George Crouchley, Matthew Radford and Lawrence Williams came through a qualifier on Friday, beating off competition from 40 other boats to secure a spot in the main draw.

However they must now face off against clubmates George Lawton, Greg Murphy, Harry Taylor and Kevin Dudley, whose form so far this season had sent them straight through.

Despite that ill fortune, coach Jed Barlow everybody is excited to be heading down to the prestigious annual event.

He hopes his crews can cope with the occasion.

“It’s a bit unfortunate that the two men’s crews will face each other as both have the capability of doing well,” he said.

“The guys have been working very hard since last September; all eight of them have trained together over the winter.

“There’s been lots of miles put in, weights lifted and rowing machines thrashed; they’ve all worked extremely hard.

“It’s a shame one of them won’t go any further, but we believe we’ve put in the right amount of preparation.

“The occasion will be brilliant with a lot of hospitality facilities all over the course, but that can add pressure on its own.

“We’ve done the right training to cope with it so we hope the guys can keep the focus inside the boat and cut out the numerous distractions.”

Meanwhile a junior women's quad of Beth Willford-Dutton, Lucy Gillbanks, Anya George and Jess Swindells progressed in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup following Friday's time trial.

Never before have three crews from the club competed in a single edition.

“All in all, there is a feeling of tremendous pride in the our achievement,” Barlow said.

“Henley is the pinnacle of British rowing; we all recognises that and we’ve been competing there consistently for a few years now.”