Cambridge oarsman Peter Champion backed the Light Blue Boat’s new cox Rebecca Dowbiggin today (Tuesday) as the crews for Saturday’s 153rd Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging, were weighed in at the Hurlingham Club in Putney, west London.

Champion, a 24-year-old psychology student from Derby, responded to queries about the replacement of Russell Glenn with Dowbiggin as Cambridge’s cox, saying, “She’s doing a great job.

“The decision was made by the coaching team and we trust them implicitly,” he said. “It seems like quite a long time ago now and we’ve done lots of good work since.”

The relaxed Champion, who has a degree in dentistry from King’s College, London, and is a British Universities rowing champion from 2003, is hoping to hold off the pre-race nerves until the weekend.

“There’s no point in being nervous now,” he said. “The nerves will come round on race day and I will try to use them to my advantage then.

“There’s no point in having nerves today as you will just wear yourself out.”