Rowing:Morten Espersen, the new Ireland performance director, has moved fast to stamp his authority on the role. The Dane oversaw his first major event, the National Assessment at Newry at the weekend, and announced yesterday that he has brought forward the final National Trials to next month from their usual Easter slot.

“We hope to have the senior and juniors selected by the first or second week of April,” he said. There may be some changes to the team during the season, but the plan is to have a senior team competing at the World Cup at the Olympic venue of Dorney Lake in June. A development squad are also set to compete at Women’s Henley.The first World Cup regatta is in Sydney in Australia next month, but no Ireland team will travel.

Yesterday’s 5km time trial on Newry Canal featured notable performances from Galway lightweight Niall Kenny, who was the fastest single sculler on the water, and outstanding junior Bridget Jacques who was ranked highest of all (87.8 per cent) on percentages of projected world best time in her class.