The men's double scullers are the best example of replenishment. Michael Arms and Robbie Manson emerged from the quadruple sculls boat which finished seventh at the Olympics.
The 23-year-olds have won both World Cups they have entered, despite assuming the intimidating mantle left by Olympic champions Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen. Further trials will be held before the world championships but they have staked a serious claim.
Arms hinted at the belief generated as part of a programme full of world and Olympic champions.
"It's an amazing feeling having Joe and Nathan in the back of your minds; it reinstated to us that [world championship] gold is possible and it was nice to put another performance on the track."
Added Manson: "We have high expectations of what we want to achieve coming out of the quad."
Before this year, New Zealand had never won a world championship or Olympic title in the men's lightweight coxless four. With the inclusion of veteran Peter Taylor, the incumbents have won both World Cups this season.
At Eton Dorney they held off a surging Danish crew after catching a crab (the technical term when an oar jams in the water during a race) with about 250m left.
Taylor, who won bronze in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympics, has made a successful transition to sweep oar rowing.
"Six to eight months ago a lightweight four was not in the picture [for RNZ]. Now our expectations and standards have been raised. Thanks to James [Lassche] and Curtis [Rapley] it was a lot tougher than it needed to be," Taylor laughed, in reference to the crab. "But, hey, we wanted to put pressure on ourselves."
"In the last 500m all we had to do was keep cool and row clean," Rapley said. "It just got to us a bit. I tried to get ahead of the boat but luckily we had a cushion of a lead. It was pretty tough picking a dead boat back up but we did it."
Under-23 world champion Kayla Pratt impressed after replacing Juliette Haigh in the women's pair. She earned silver with Rebecca Scown.
Twigg, the sole Olympic finalist from 10 months ago, used her course experience to good effect.
"It surprised me to get out so far ahead [in the first 500m]. I guess it helps when you train under all conditions at Lake Karapiro.
"It was about keeping relaxed and Eric [Murray] had a word to me before I went out. He said 'keep relaxed and long in the stroke', basically summing up all those technical things which help in rough water. It wasn't a conscious decision to get out front but once I did, I wanted to make the most of it because I knew it would be harder down the finishing end."
Earlier Bond and Murray extinguished any theories of complacency in the wake of their Olympic triumph. They established the longest winning streak at international events in men's rowing with a 14th consecutive title.
Against an underwhelming field in a post-Olympic year, they streaked away to win by 15.73s.
