MONMOUTH RC’s masters have been going head-to-head with London University’s Tyrian alumni oarsmen for some 15 years – but the battle was never closer than Sunday when the Wye outfit beat the Thames boat by just 0.6 seconds over 4.25 miles.

Forty three MRC members launched out in London at the weekend, starting with the men’s 8s Head of the River time-trial on Saturday, before another four boats raced 24 hours later in the Vesta International Masters Head over the same reverse Boat Race course.

The MRC Masters F (over-60) boat of Tim Earnshaw, Nick Hooton, Mark Stewart-Woods, Simon Lee, Colin Lewis, Jonathan Ferris, Toby Harding, James Allison and cox Hannah Llewellyn-Davies were hopeful of a good row and knew only their best would do to have a chance of winning their class.

And so it proved, as they finished the Chiswick to Putney course in 19mins 19.16secs to squeeze out Tyrian by a fraction of a second.

The Wye boat finished 28th overall in the 213-strong field, with the next F boat Walton RC a full 26 seconds further back.

Monmouth RC’s women’s E (over-55) 8 had the benefit of Tideway knowledge in former Monmouth School for Girls cox Darcy Birkett, who had steered her London University boat to fifth in the world’s biggest women’s race, the Women’s 8s Head, on the same Thames course two weeks earlier.

And Kate Hooton, Liz Lewis, Kathryn Diserens, Julia Cowton, Mary Miller, Gabby Miles, Sarah Part and Mel Brown placed 147th overall and third in age group behind Broxbourne and York in 21.41.9.

Rachel Westerlund, Maggie Hickland, Ellen Rule, Dawn Brace and cox Zach Salmon also made up a composite mixed boat with four men from Ardingley and Cardiff Metropolitan and did well to finish 107th and eighth in class in 20.43.

Another mixed boat containing the club’s Olympian coach Tim Male and several rowers in their 70s just beat their ladies by four places in 21.32, placing seventh in their age-group. Also on board were Lenny Colling, Alex Mitchell, Scott Hazeldine, Frances Lester, Gail Adams, Ali Hazeldine, Amanda Snelson and cox Annika Hanson.

The previous day it had been the turn of the club’s senior men in the oldest time-trial rowing race, the men’s HoR.

Matt Winter, Evan Whittall-Williams, Tim Male, Oli Patrridge, Tom Cookman, Tom Brice, Sam Bainbridge, Alex Butler and cox Richard Summers placed 116th in 19.00.8, with Monmouth School securing Wye bragging rights by just 4.1secs and eight places.

Top Welsh boat in the 310-boat race were Llandaff RC’s juniors in 69th in 18.33.6.