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You are in: Special Events: 2001: University Boat Race |
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Saturday, 24 March, 2001, 17:30 GMT
Cambridge's deserved victory
The Cambridge cox receives the wet treatment
BBC Radio Five Live commentator and former Boat Race competitor Richard Phelps sees Cambridge claim a memorable and controversial victory.
Rupert Obholzer should be praised for his inspired umpiring. Some in the Oxford camp may blame him for denying the Dark Blues a certain victory. But given time to reflect on the matter they will appreciate that Obholzer acted decisively, quickly and correctly. After the race, the umpire was at pains to explain that having just warned Oxford they were technically in the wrong at the time of the boat-stopping clash. The post mortem will be extensive, but from my point of view the umpire is the boss, what he says is the law, and what Rupert did was absolutely right. A turning tide
As inspirational as Obholzer was, Jeremy Moncrieff, the Oxford cox, brought no more to the party than a tiny frame, determination, and grey matter - he used all three very effectively. He ducked and weaved about the river - more typical of jostling Formula one drivers before overtaking. The margin of three lengths would have been a lot more if he hadn't been so cunning and courageous. Noticing the tide was turning, Moncrieff headed for the bank and every time he did so Oxford gained on Cambridge.
At one point I thought he was going to hit Barnes bridge - so desperate was he to tuck into the side and avoid the land water flowing against the crews. In the end though, the rowing did the talking. Whilst the umpiring and river conditions may steal the headlines, it was the superior power and application of it that saw Cambridge slowly pull clear of Oxford. Immediately after the restart, Oxford appeared to have taken the upper hand, but the effort required to stay there was unsustainable and eventually Oxford had to concede to Cambridge. We were promised an unorthodox boat race and that's what we got - clashing blades, restarts and crews hugging the bank to avoid oncoming stream. All good stuff for the Boat Race, as an institution especially - and the better crew won on the day.
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