PROSPECTS for a competitive championship season were confirmed in Galway on Saturday by Trinity's narrow win over Neptune in the main race of the Carlsberg sponsored Tribesmen Head of the River.
A margin of 2 1/2 seconds was all that separated the two Open Eight crews over the 3 1/2 mile course from Lough Corrib to Galway city.
In dry and still conditions times were around 30 seconds off the record pace set by Neptune last year.
An aggressive race plan which in the final stages translated into a higher stroke rate than Neptune's 36 a minute won Trinity the event.
Their coach Nick Dunlop sees the results as a good form guide to the forthcoming season. "Neptune has dominated this event in the last few years but this crew has promise to win the championship and this was their first real test. I am very pleased," he said.
Both eights will meet each other again at this weekend's Dublin Head. Neptune coach Peter Buckley is aware that Trinity will be favourites over a Neptune eight weakened by the international commitments of last year's championship members.
The Open Eights was also to have offered an early indication of Olympic hopes with a composite crew drawn from the national lightweight squad due to take part.
In the event, the eight was scratched after strokeman Tony O'Connor was taken to hospital with a viral infection.
Earlier, O'Connor had won the Open Pairs event with fellow Neptune international, Neville Maxwell, by an impressive 35 seconds from fellow Olympic squad members Derek Holland and Donal Hanrahan.
A virus also deprived the Open Men's sculls event of Niall O'Toole. Irish champion Gearoid Towey of Fermoy failed to capitalise on his main rival's absence.
Towey crashed into a tree at the start of the course leaving Neptune's Brendan Dolan to take first place and Galway's Eoin Difiney second.
O'Toole's seat in the composite quad was taken by Belfast's John Armstrong, behind Towey, Dolan and strokeman Niall Byrne.
Their winning of 13 minutes 40 seconds - 37 seconds ahead of Commercial - pleased national coach John Holland who has yet to decide who will fill the two lightweight double scull seats in Atlanta.
