After a very successful Erne Head of the River, two crews from Enniskillen Royal Boat Club raced at Schools Head of the River in London on Monday afternoon, both crews picking up second place in their category, the Schools 1st Eights.

This was the first Schools Head to take place since 2019, with the last two year’s events having been cancelled due to Covid.

The boys crew of Tom Blake, Marcus Davis-Kunze, Oran Harty, Tim Murphy, Nathan Kelly, Charlie Smith, Lewis Nixon, Luke Paton and cox Frankie Reihill were the 11th fastest crew out of the 334 on the start list and second out of 26 crews in the category in a time of 17.48.1 less than three seconds behind the winners, Reading Blue Coat Boat Club.

The Head was raced over the 4.5 mile course on the Thames from Chiswick Bridge to Putney.

The girls crew of Aine McCaffrey, Laura Turner, Acorn Cassidy, Chloe Thompson, Katie Donnelly, Martha McBrien, Niamh Campbell, Rachel Cullinan and cox Grace Ralph came second out of 13 crews, the seventh fastest girls’ crew overall in a time of 19.30.2 just behind the category winners, Shiplake College.

Derek Holland, Head of Rowing at ERBC was happy with the crews’ performances: “It was great to be back racing Schools Head against the best school rowing clubs in the UK and further afield.

“Both crews performed well and gained lots of racing experience as we move from Head season to Regatta season next month. There are lots of positives to take away from Monday’s race as we start into a very busy time for the rowers heading into Henley Royal Regatta and the Irish Championships in the summer.”