AS FAR as games of prestige go, it seems, you can't go past the more than century-old Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in the world of rowing.
But ask Hawke's Bay-born Richard Harrison what he thinks of the grind in the race between the English universities compared to the fledgling 12-year-old Gallagher Great Race this Sunday in Hamilton and his answer is unequivocal.
"They race with the currents in the Oxford race whereas over here [Waikato River] it's a lot harder and tactical because we're upstream, against the flow of the current," says the 23-year-old Hawke's Bay Rowing Club member before he clambers into the boat for the University of Waikato.
The Gallagher Great Race, which starts at 1.25pm on Sunday, offers an all-day carnival atmosphere, with some corporate muscle behind it, ultimately to become an illustrious event some day in its own right.
The inaugural race was held in 2002 with Waikato University winning it seven times, Cambridge of England thrice and Sydney University once.
It is raced along a 3.85km route, "something completely different to the 2km straight times".
"It's sub-four up the river with lots of people watching," explains Harrison, a former Napier Boys' High School student, before making a beeline for a sponsors' dinner yesterday.
The environmental policy and geography final-year student, who has won two golds and as many silver medals, will occupy the sixth seat and believes he's the most experienced of all his crew.
Fellow Bay club members Giacomo Thomas, 22, and Paddy McInnes are also in the Waikato Uni equation.
While Harrison will attempt to inspire his rowers he's mindful coxswain Caleb Shepherd, of Hamilton, will play a pivotal part in navigating them.
"I try to lead by example because the coxswain does most of the talking so we don't say too much.
"He [Shepherd] can win or lose it for the crew," Harrison says, confident the non-rower in the crew will guide them safely past hurdles, such as the pylons of about five different bridges they'll confront, and steer them to serene patches of water.
Thomas, a former Havelock North High School student, racing for the second time, reckons the defending champion Sydneysiders will be favourites with four world champions and Olympians in their crew.
The Waikato crew have Under-23 world champions Finn Howard (North Shore) and Shaun Kirkum (Hamilton) as well as elite rowers Tobias Werhr-Candler and Jade Uru who were competing in the Korean World Champs last week. Mckenzie Mackie, of Hamilton, is the remaining rower.
Says Thomas, a third-year computer science student: "We train twice a day."
A thrilled Bay club president , Duncan Barr, says: "No matter where our rowers end up we always keep a very close eye on their progress. We are very proud of these guys."
The naming of the team caps off a successful season for the Hawke's Bay rowing club.
Club members have represented New Zealand at Junior (U19), U21 and U23 levels, NZ Universities and, of course, Olympian Emma Twigg and Adam Tripp are national representatives.
This year the Gallagher series, which also has a women's segment competing for the Bryan Gould Cup, will include a race for national secondary school teams.
That means the NBHS will be out to exact revenge on the Hamilton Boys' crew who pipped them at the post at the Maadi Cup in March this year.
"The Napier Boys' High School team is determined and they have been training hard," Barr says.
"While they were thrilled with the silver medal at Maadi, the fact that they were leading most of the way and lost the gold by 0.19secs still irks them.
"They are looking forward to a good hard race."