New pair hope to squeeze title from rowing champs

Rowing New Zealand will be hoping their new men's pairs combination of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray return more attractive results than Bond's explanation of what makes them quick.

"It's like squeezing a pimple," Bond said at Lake Karapiro yesterday after the pair were named in the 22-strong New Zealand squad to contest the world championships in Poznan, Poland, in August.

"You get both of you squeezing from either side and hoping that something explodes out of it," Bond said to the hilarity and disgust of his crewmate.

The pair were part of the 2007 world championship winning coxless four that also included Carl Meyer and James Dallinger. They surprisingly missed a place in last year's final at the Beijing Olympics and when Meyer and Dallinger sought different sporting avenues, Bond and Murray opted to row in the pairs spot previously occupied by George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle.

After impressive results in regattas and training earlier this season, the pair were obvious selections and had a quiet but impressive week at the trials at Lake Karapiro under the guidance of RNZ head coach Dick Tonks.

"We both went well in the erg (ergometer) tests and that got us off to a good start," Bond said. "We were pleased to do a good time on the water too and to warrant the faith the selectors showed in us. Hopefully those competitive times will translate into competitive performances overseas."

Murray admitted the pair was "a very technical" boat to row. "If your timing is out you're going to go slow, so we have to make sure everything goes well together."

Murray said the duo would be working on how they respond "in pressure situations so that we don't need to panic.

"The pair is quite a bit slower than the four, so we need to realise that there's a bit more time in the race for things to pan out."

They're unsure what to expect in their upcoming European campaign, although it's understood their times have been world class.

"It's a blank canvas, being a post-Olympics year," Murray said.

"A lot of countries may be re-assessing what their priorities are so we might be facing other guys we've raced in the four or we could be facing Olympic champions. We just don't know we can only race what turns up."

The pair, and the rest of the squad, will compete in two World Cup events and the Henley Royal Regatta before the world champs.

As expected, Mahe Drysdale was named in the single sculls but there's some new faces among the team.

Waikato veteran Paula Twining is joined by debutante Anna Reymer in the women's double sculls boat vacated by retired dual Olympic gold medallists Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell.

Duncan Grant will chase a third consecutive lightweight single sculls crown while Matthew Trott is re-united with Nathan Cohen in the double sculls and Te Awamutu's Graham Oberlin-Brown is part of a new-look lightweight four.

New Zealand team:

Men: single scull, Mahe Drysdale; lightweight single scull, Duncan Grant; adaptive single scull, Robin Tinga; double scull, Matthew Trott, Nathan Cohen; lightweight double scull, Storm Uru, Peter Taylor; coxless pair, Eric Murray, Hamish Bond; lightweight four, Todd Petherick, James Lassche, Richard Beaumont, Graham Oberlin-Brown.

Women: single scull, Emma Twigg; coxless pair, Rebecca Scown, Emma Feathery; double scull, Paula Twining, Anna Reymer; quadruple scull, Harriet Austin, Sarah Barnes, Louise Trappitt, Genevieve Armstrong.

Under-23 team to race in the world championships at Racice, Czech Republic, in July:-

Men: coxless four, Simon Watson, Hamish Burson, Tyson Williams, Jade Uru; coxed four, David Eade, Ian Seymour, Tobias Wehr-Chandler, John Storey; double scull, Joseph Sullivan, Rob Manson.

Women: quadruple scull, Lucy Spoors, Odette Sceats, Alyce Pulford, Leah Stanley; coxless four, Kate Reymer, Jess Loe, Ali Burnside, Regan Barkla; lightweight double, Julia Trevetter, Louise Ayling.

- © Fairfax NZ News