Rowing: Drysdale starts well at Henley

New Zealand rower Mahe Drysdale made a winning start to his title defence at the prestigious Henley Regatta in England this morning.

It was a largely successful day for the New Zealand rowers, with Drysdale, Duncan Grant, the men's pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, light and heavy double sculls and the club eight from West End all progressing with wins in their match races.

Michael Arms and former squad member Carl Meyer lost their races in the diamond sculls.

Murray and Bond, who beat a Reading University pairing, are headed for another showdown with Beijing Olympic gold medallists Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed.

"It was a good race but with a difficult start because of the windy conditions. We had our first row on the course this morning ahead of the race so it's nice to get a win under our belts," Bond said.

New heavyweight double scull combination Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen battled a stiff headwind on the Henley course to record a solid four length victory over the Canadian lightweight double scull that won the category at the Bled World Cup regatta.

The rest of the New Zealand rowers are in action tomorrow, including the men's and women's quad sculls, Emma Twigg and the men's eight, who face a tough first round against the powerful Cambridge crew.

- NZPA