ROWING: Commercial Rowing Club have never won a men's senior eights national title on their own, but have every chance of rectifying that at the National Championships which begin today at the National Rowing Centre in Cork and continue tomorrow.

The Dublin club, which won its first Henley title this year after almost a century and a half in existence, has built an eight around the four men who won that quadruple sculls title earlier this month.

Seán Jacob, Albert Maher, Ciarán Lewis and James Mangan are joined by Con Collis, the other member of the sculling group which joined the club with a Henley dream, and three Commercial stalwarts, stroke man Fran O'Toole, Emmet O'Brien and Owen Byrne. Niamh Ó Dunlaing will cox.

The coveted title was won last year by a composite of NUIG, Offaly, Tribesmen and UCC, but while NUIG and Skibbereen have a crew entered this year, coach Tom Tuohy said yesterday they were not going to row.

Tuohy said it would be asking too much of the four men who won the Visitors' Cup at Henley to row in the men's coxless and coxed four - both titles which look within their reach - and then in an eight when they are competing in the World Under-23 Championships in Belgrade in a week's time. "They have bigger fish to fry," he said.

Commercial's three remaining opponents in the eight are Belfast's Lady Victoria and Queen's Univeristy and a Lady Elizabeth/ Trinity crew which may give them their hardest test.

Lady Elizabeth beat Lady Victoria in the Thames Cup quarter-final at Henley, and their Trinity component this time out will not be a young student but Darren Barber, who won gold at the Barcelona Olympics with Canada and last month won that country's single sculls trial in Victoria.

Trinity are notably absent from the women's senior eights entry this year, leaving the way open for great rivals, UCD. Nessa and Luise Ronayne are part of a strong-looking Trinity four, however, and also form a coxless pair.

The men's coxless pair title may go west, as NUIG's Alan Martin and Marc Stevens will contest this as well as the fours events, and the Commercial scullers would be expected to fill a number of the top spots in the senior singles category.

Much interest will also centre on whether Neptune, who are having a lean year otherwise, can capture the men's novice eights title.

Finally, an apology which got lost in the wash of last weekend's hectic activity. Contrary to what was stated in our piece on the Monday after Henley Royal Regatta, Irish crews have won on the double at the regatta on five occasions, not three.

The years omitted were 1975 when Seán Drea won the Diamond Sculls and Garda the Thames Cup, and 1977 when Garda won the Prince Philip and Trinity the Ladies' Plate.