The Southport School’s Mackenzie Branch was hospitalised on the eve of their second regatta but the shock will only build resilience
A cruel blow on the eve of their GPS second regatta wasn’t enough to derail The Southport School’s First VIII who had one of their crew members hospitalised on Friday night.
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A cruel blow on the eve of their GPS second regatta wasn’t enough to derail The Southport School’s First VIII who had one of their crew members hospitalised on Friday night.
MEET THE MAN BEHIND TSS HEAD OF THE RIVER PUSH
Mackenzie Branch came down with an infection on Friday and spent the night in hospital on an antibiotic drip, forcing a last minute seat reshuffle on Saturday.
On the back of the last minute disruption, the crew crossed the line sixth in their first rotation before regaining confidence to finish second in the last race of the day much to the delight of First VIII coach Cameron Kennedy.
“He’s one of our top rowers so we had to make a last-minute change,” he said.
“It took more than a race for the rowers to get used to that.
“It wasn’t the day we wanted but they came good after the last minute change.”
FIRST VIII UNIQUE APPROACH TO BUILDING CAMARADERIE
Branch is expected to make a full recovery in the coming days and be fine to race in the third regatta this coming Saturday.
Kennedy believes the dramatic weekend could prove a clear sticking point as TSS continue to coach flexibility and adaptability in search of their 22nd Head of the River title.
“You do train to make sure they can adjust and adapt to any crew,” he said.
“You do swap around seats and personal.
“There’s a lot of talk about what ifs and how we can respond if someone gets injured or is sick so in some ways, it’s good to practice that scenario now ahead of Head of the River.”
Kennedy believes a relaxed attitude was behind his crew’s sudden response, improving four places and six seconds from race one to two.
“They felt like they had nothing to lose and tried to enjoy the second race for what it was,” he said.
“It’s good to see them gaining that mindset as a group and knowing they can perform in different circumstances.”
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