The London Head of the River on the Thames on Saturday provided an encouraging indicator of the strength of Irish rowing, with some fine performances by the Irish crews. Neptune's exceptional eight, which features all the Irish lightweight four, finished eighth, taking a certificate for finishing within 30 seconds of the winners.

Queen's Tower were the surprise champions, taking the title in 17 minutes 5.89 seconds, three seconds ahead of hot favourites Leander, who had a crew packed with internationals, including four-time Olympic champion Steve Redgrave.

From an Irish perspective, Garda confirmed their improving form with a creditable 41st, position and four Irish crews were closely packed around them - UCC (37th), UCD (50th), Queen's (52nd) and Commercial 61st.