Oxford cox Nick Brodie refuses to believe he has an advantage over his opposite number despite the late call-up of Rebecca Dowbiggin as Cambridge cox this week.

Brodie, who has coxed Isis, Oxford’s reserve boat, for the last two years, admitted at the weigh-in for the 153rd boat race, sponsored by Xchanging, today (Tuesday) that he is the more experienced of the two.

But the 20-year-old geography student at St Catherine’s College said he will not underestimate his new rival.

“I am the more experienced cox but I have the less experienced crew,” he said. “It was a surprise when Russell (Glenn) was dropped by Cambridge but I certainly won’t be complacent about Rebecca.

“You never know whether these things will have an affect. They can freshen it all up a bit in the final days, but they are rarely decisive. As Matthew Pinsent said some years ago, it more like re-arranging the deck chairs.”

Brodie pointed out that Oxford has also made changes in the last few days as coach Sean Bowden re-organised the seat order of his crew last week.

“We’ve had a bit of a line-up change and it seems to have been a good thing,” said Brodie. “Training has gone pretty well this week and we are very confident in our preparation.”

Brodie described his move up from Isis to Oxford’s Blue Boat as a “natural step” for a cox, claiming that he is not feeling the pressure as Saturday’s race draws nearer, despite his crew’s role as underdogs.

The Oxford eight weighed in at an average of 4.3kg per man lighter than the more experienced Cambridge crew today.

“We’re here to do a job, not think about the pressure,” said Brodie. “The weight difference can go two ways. We won’t be worried about that.”