Wright makes triumphant return
Ian Wright made a triumphant return to his old stamping ground on Saturday as the Melbourne University women's eight became the first visiting crew to win the Bryan Gould Cup on the Waikato River.Wright, who coached rowing at St Paul's Collegiate, Waikato Rowing Club and Hamilton Boys' High School, took over as the head coach at Melbourne University last year.
On Saturday his women's eight cruised to a six boat-length win over Waikato University to end the locals' stranglehold on the cup. "I've been around the river for quite a while so it was a bit of an advantage," Wright said afterwards. "The cox (Sophie Jamieson) followed the race plan perfectly."
The Melbourne crew were considerably bigger than their Waikato counterparts and demonstrated their power at the start, racing away and cutting across Waikato on the first corner with a healthy lead.
Waikato never looked like making any headway against the powerful Melbourne eight who crossed the finish line well ahead at Victoria Bridge.
Waikato captain Natalie Sorensen said her crew's poor start had cost them the race. "I thought we had a good race," she said. "We just weren't there at the start."
Wright has had considerable success with Melbourne University crews since his move across the ditch, winning 21 medals at the recent Australian nationals.