25 March 2008

This week’s Oxford and Cambridge crews for the Boat Race sponsored by Xchanging each come up just one England forward short of the combined weight of the fearsome England Rugby Union heavyweight pack.

But both crews would match the weight of Phil Vickery’s mighty forwards if they could add England back-rower James Haskell to their ranks.

Going into today’s official Weigh-In, Oxford were the heavier crew at 840kg (including the cox), while Cambridge weighed in at 792.2kg – against a starting England forward pack during the RBS Six Nations Championship which weighed in at 897kg (57kg heavier than Oxford and 104.8kg heavier than Cambridge). Average individual weights showed England rugby forwards at 112kg and Oxford and Cambridge crews (including the cox) at 93.3kg and 88kg respectively.

James Haskell, who weighs 110 kg, was England’s first choice number 6 in the recent Six Nation’s campaign until sustaining an injury in the French game. He is 8.2kg heavier than the heaviest Cambridge crew member, Britain’s Peter Marsland and 8kg heavier than American Aaron Marcovy, the heaviest Oxford oarsman. James, who plays for London Wasps, is also heavier than both coxes combined – Oxford’s Nick Brodie (53.4kg) and Rebecca Dowbiggin (48.8kg).

However, James is a ‘shorty’ when it comes to comparing heights with the Boat Race crews. At 1.93m (6’ 4”), he is shorter than Londoner Toby Garnett of Cambridge (2.02m – 6’ 6”) and Oxford’s American rower Michael Wherley (2.01 – 6’ 5”).

The tallest crew is Oxford, with an average height of 1.92m (6’ 3”), which compares exactly to the height of the England pack that defeated France in Paris last month. Cambridge are only a fraction shorter (1.89 or 6’ 2”) than their rivals – and England’s rugby giants.

For further information, please contact John Collard or Kate Ferguson at Sports Impact on 020 8971 9230 or 020 8788 8560 katef@sports-impact.com