"Winning that silver was a pretty unreal experience. A lot of time and effort went into getting to Poland and there were a few hiccups along the way," Laver explained.
"Forty eight hours before our heat I collected a hand injury during a training row. It just blew up. It put a bit of undue stress on the crew at the time but I recovered and we got to pull through.
"We won the repechage to qualify for the final where we were in lane six. We were fourth after the first kilometre and fourth with 500 metres to go. We managed to pass Germany and Italy during the final 500 in what was an exciting race," Laver recalled.
"I had no idea where we had come when we crossed the finish line ... we were completely smashed."
A Napier Boys' High School product, Laver, rowed from 2012 to 2014 before taking two years off to focus on his Smedley Station commitments. Last year he headed to Lincoln University to begin a three-year Bachelor of Commerce and Agriculture course.
Like Mackintosh, Laver, rows for the Southern Regional Performance Centre and the Canterbury club while in the South Island. Mackintosh's bronze was his second world championship medal as he was a crewmate of Laver's in 2014.
"Hawke's Bay has a good coaching programme. The technical work put in on the Clive River has set me up well," Mackintosh, 21, said.
In Poland his crew finished third behind winners Romania and Great Britain. He was the oldest in his crew and the others were 19 or 18.
"The younger members of the crew showed outstanding maturity. They were up for it and when the call came to make a move at the end, they really responded. In the end we were just 0.1seconds away from second and two seconds from gold," Lindisfarne College old boy Mackintosh explained.
"We've got a good foundation to work with next year at this level.
"We will go back with the aim of improving on the bronze.
"I've got to thank all my family and friends who have supported me on this journey. New Zealand had the biggest crowd of all the countries in Poland and their chanting gave us a big push as we went down the course," Mackintosh said.
Laver and Mackintosh had planned a holiday around Europe after last weekend's championships with a couple of teammates. However they were among eight men in Poland selected to trial for the New Zealand elite team at Lake Karapiro from today.
On August 10 the New Zealand team for next month's world championships in Plodiv, Bulgaria will be selected.
"These trials take priority. You take these opportunities with open arms and if you don't make the team this time you make sure you do your best so you are considered in the future," Laver said.
"I'm hoping to make a four but I will take whatever comes. It's a quick turnaround but with a good recovery and the right nutrition I'll be ready," Mackintosh added on Wednesday.
