Both Oxford and Cambridge Universities will race on The Boat Race course this Sunday (March 5th) for the last time before each announce their selections on Monday for this year’s Boat Race, sponsored by Xhcanging and due to take place at 4.35pm on April 2nd.

Oxford take on an American eight whilst Cambridge have opted to race against a Molesey Boat Club crew which will be short of race practice as a unit but which features GB Olympians Phil Simmons and Simon Fieldhouse.

Somewhat intriguingly this crew will be coxed by Acer Nethercott - last year’s winning Oxford Blue Boat cox - and stroked by Andy Hodge from that same winning boat who is now a world champion in the men’s four.

The Boat Race crews for 2006 will be announced at Winchester House, Putney, at 10.30am on Monday (6 March) - see media advisory below.

Details of the 2006 pre-Race fixtures are:

Sunday 5 March

15.30 Isis v University of London

16.00 Oxford "Blue"* Boat v a US eight

16.30 Cambridge Blue Boat v Molesey BC

Saturday 18 March

14.30 Goldie v Tideway Scullers

15.00 Cambridge "Blue" Boat v Leander

Sunday 19 March

15.00 Isis v Polish eight

15.30 Oxford "Blue" boat v an Italian eight