The Australian Rowing Team has enjoyed a strong start at the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta, with six of the seven crews in action last night progressing to the next round of competition in England.

In the Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup for the men’s pair, all three of Australia’s crews featuring in racing last night progressed with ease to the quarter-final stage.

Blair Tunevitsch (TAS) and Tom Gibson (TAS), Ali Foot (TAS) and Rod Chisholm (NSW), and Will Lockwood (VIC) and Brodie Buckland (NSW) won by comfortable margins against their opposition over the 2,112m course.

Lockwood and Buckland will now face Foot and Chisholm in the quarter-finals of the event, while Bidwell and Chapman will row against the Greece’s number one men’s pair combination of Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas.

Nicholas Hudson (NSW) safely negotiated his way through his first row in the Diamond Challenge Sculls for the men’s single scull, with James Chapman (NSW) joining him in the next round.

Chapman also combined with Jared Bidwell (QLD) in The Double Sculls Challenge Cup to win by a comfortable margin and progress to the quarter-finals.

2008 Olympic champions David Crawshay (VIC) and Scott Brennan (TAS), having received a bye in the first round, will make their bow at Henley this evening in the same event, marking their first international regatta together since they won gold in Beijing three years ago.

Triple Olympic gold medallist Drew Ginn (VIC) will also make his long awaited return to Australian colours this evening as he lines up in the men’s four with Joshua Dunkley Smith (VIC), Nicholas Purnell (NSW) and Sam Loch (NSW).

They will race their quarter final of The Stewards’ Challenge Cup against Switzerland’s lightweight men’s four crew, with the winner to face either China or the United States in the next round.

The Australian men’s quad scull of Daniel Noonan (NSW), Karsten Forsterling (VIC), James McRae (SA) and Chris Morgan (SA) will face Olympic champions Poland in the quarter final of the Queen Mother Challenge Cup, while both women’s quad scull crews take to the water for the first time.

Full results of Thursday night racing available at http://www.hrr.co.uk/results/

Full draw for Friday night racing available at http://www.hrr.co.uk/regatta/timetable/

Rowing Australia