Former Oxford Boat Race Winners, Andy Hodge and Peter Reed, were part of a powerhouse victory for Britain in the men’s four at the World Cup in Poznan, Poland, today.

The British men’s four, tested in Munich last month, dominated here in Poznan.

Peter Reed described the crew’s performance as "better, cleaner and more organised". His crew-mate Andy Hodge echoed the sentiment. "We’ve made good improvements since Munich", he said after a win in 5:44.92 ahead of Slovenia in second with New Zealand third.

"The other crews have been probably studying our times", added Reed. "I know we have a quick start but I was also aware that Slovenia and New Zealand were still with us at the beginning. They are human beings, too, though, so I knew they would pay for that effort later".

By the 1500m mark, the British were three seconds up on Slovenia and eight ahead of New Zealand. From there the result was pretty much foregone.

Cambridge Blues Kieran West, Tom Stallard and Josh West and their cox and Oxford Blue Acer Nethercott were confined to spectator seats today, though.

They were part of the GB eight which won its repechage yesterday which should have seen them racing for medals today. Yet the eight were disqualified for infringing the Chinese after suffering a rudder failure.

GB protested the exclusion but to no avail.