Rowing: Taylor swaps sculling for sweep oar

New Zealand rowers Peter Taylor and Storm Uru after winning a Bronze in the Lightweight Mens Double Sculls Rowing Final, at Eton Dorney during the 2012 London Olympics. Photo / NZ Herald

Peter Taylor's got good reasons to be enjoying his switch of boat for this year's European rowing campaign.

The lightweight sculler won bronze at the London Olympics last year with longtime chum Storm Uru.

Now Uru is focused on academia rather than rowing, studying for a Masters in Business Administration at Cambridge University.

So Taylor was moved into the lightweight coxless four swapping sculling for sweep oar rowing - where he's the old man of a crew who can't be accused of not making the most of their opportunities.

Along with James Hunter, James Lassche and Curtis Rapley, Taylor has been at the top of the podium at both World Cup regattas so far, in Sydney in March, when several leading nations were missing, and at Eton Dorney at the weekend.

"It's totally different, but then it's not," Taylor said.

"We're racing the same, the first from A to B wins. But the environment I've put myself in is totally changed. I'm surrounded by a different coach, a new crew and you've got to deal with three other guys instead of one."

In Sydney, Taylor was "really chuffed" with the outcome "especially for the other guys in the crew who'd never won on the international stage before".

Events at Eton only sharpened his view that things are certainly moving in the right direction, with the world championships in South Korea in August the target.

At Eton, New Zealand clocked 5min 49.46s, pipping Denmark by a blink, .04s with Britain third.

Taylor, at 29, admits at times he feels "ancient" around his 20, 22 and 23-year-old crewmates.

"But these guys are mature in how they approach it. They're much more mature than I was at their age," he said.

"It's really cool to see. I feed off their enthusiasm, they don't know their limits, they keep pushing, going hard."

This is an interesting year for several of New Zealand's elite rowers. Olympic double sculling gold medallists Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan have been separated this year, Sullivan filling Mahe Drysdale's single seat for the time being, Cohen in a quad with his Southern sculling mates, brother Hayden, Fergus Fauvel and Nathan Flannery.

Further trials are due between the third World Cup at Lucerne next month and heading to Korea. Rejigs are possible, depending on performance. That's not likely to be an issue for the lightweight four.

Taylor might find a dilemma at the end of the year. He admitted he misses sculling, but might have to weigh up the choices of pressing on in the four towards the Rio Olympics in 2016, or look at another sculling campaign in a lightweight double.

Much of that decision will be down to the Rowing New Zealand selectors.

Then there's the Uru question. Will he return next year with an eye on Rio? That's unclear but for now Taylor's relishing his new challenge. If the rest of the year carries on in the same vein for the four, his decision might be made for him.