Three crews, three gold medals pretty much sums up the dominance of the UP-Tuks rowers over the weekend on the Kowie-River in Port Alfred during the USSA Boat Race.

For Mpumi Geza (Tuks coach it indeed was mission accomplished. However, he could not help but be slightly upset about the buffoonery of the crew of the University of Rhodes during the men’s A-final.

There was a lot at stake in the men’s race. UP-Tuks was out to equal the Rhodes victory of ten consecutive wins. So a humdinger was expected. Unfortunately, that was not how things played out. 

Within the first 100 metres, the Rhodes crew crashed into the UP-Tuks boat which led to the teams to turn around for a restart. Geza thinks Rhodes was deliberate in what they did.

“We expected that Rhodes would come up with something to try and unravel our game plan, but we did not expect them in being so calculating doing so. And to be doing it so early on. What happened was very unsportsmanlike.”

The second time around the UP-Tuks crew made every stroke count right from the start. They immediately took the lead and kept on increasing it right up to the finish ending up beating Rhodes by well over 100 metres. 

David Porter (UP-Tuks coxswain) said he got the idea that the Rhodes crew was not serious about winning.

“We were there to race to the best of our abilities while it seemed as if Rhodes was playing everything off as a joke. They certainly were not giving us any respect.” 

The UP-Tuks women’s A-side defended their title quite convincingly. It is the first time they managed to achieve back-to-back victories during the USSA Boat Race Regatta.

The women’s B-final was, without a doubt, the race of the day. Geza described it as a thrilling pound for pound battle between the crews of UP-Tuks and UCT. Porter who also coxed the UP-Tuks B-crew ensured a victory with his tactical brilliance. 

“We knew it was going to be a close race especially since UCT was three seconds faster in the heats. At first, the plan was to try and get ahead as quickly as possible, but that did not work. We had to do something drastic. When we got to ‘Shipwreck’, I decided to take a line straight across which forced the UCT cox to swing out wide. That led to us winning.”

However, Porter refuses to take the credit for the victory.
 
“It was a true team effort. The girls rowed brilliantly, never relenting.”

Geza who has been coaching the UP-Tuks crews since 2014 ascribed their success to lessons learned from past races and making fewer mistakes. 

“I am really ‘chuffed’ with how every rower executed their respective game plans and backed the training they have done."