All was not well in the favoured Oxford boat as they prepared for the 137th University Boat Race against Cambridge on Saturday, March 30, 1991. The University of London had soundly beaten them two weeks before their big day and the pressure was on Oxford’s crack crew to maintain a winning sequence.

Oxford had left nothing to chance in their preparation to continue a run of 15 wins in 17 races. The Dark Blues had taken on respected finishing coach Mike Spracklen to bring them to a peak and had Great Britain internationals Matthew Pinsent and Rupert Obholzer among their talented crew. Now, however, there were question marks about whether their brute power was enough to win a fifth consecutive race.

It was shaping up as a classic clash of styles: Oxford’s muscle against the superior technique of Cambridge. “We had confidence in ourselves, but certainly felt the weight of expectation following such a long run of wins,” recalls cox Neil Chugani.

The almost perfect conditions on the day favoured the lighter Cambridge crew. It was a warm, sunny spring day, with a good tide, a light wind and calm water. Oxford won the toss and opted for the Surrey station, although many thought they could win comfortably from either side of the river. Cambridge, though, had a game plan that took everybody by surprise. Umpire Mark Evans set both crews off to a clean start and Cambridge, with a first-minute rate of 40 strokes compared to Oxford’s 42, established a lead. When they passed the boathouses at Putney Embankment, the Light Blues led by half a length and extended their advantage to three-quarters of a length by the Craven Steps. They had upped their rate and almost broke clear of Oxford.

“We were surprised by our own poor start and how quickly they got ahead,” says Chugani. “But the key was that we stuck with our race plan and by the mile we had established a rhythm and pace that proved to be quicker over the distance of the course. And once we started to reel them in, our confidence grew and we knew we had the momentum with us.”

Oxford gradually came back at Cambridge and by the mile post, the Light Blues had been pinned back to a lead of only one second after 3min 40sec. Oxford raised their rate and power shortly before Harrods Depository as their experience began to tell.

“By the time we reached Harrods and got level, we knew we could move away,” says Chugani. They went under the Hammersmith Bridge in 6min 33sec and although their bladework was rougher than that of their rivals, their power had given them a two-second lead.

With the bend in Oxford’s favour, they inexorably increased their lead. Along the final stretch, Cambridge bravely put in a last effort, raising their rate to 36. It was not enough. Oxford crossed the finish line in 16min 59sec and won by 4¼ lengths. It was only the third time that 17 minutes had been bettered and in conditions which, although good, lacked the tail wind that is a normal feature of fast times.

Pinsent remembers the Boat Race with fondness. “It is absolutely tremendous to be involved. It’s the pinnacle of the sport for a student rower,” he says. “It stands alone. The two universities have been rowing for more than 150 years and the elements and conditions play a part. I was lucky with the weather when I rowed, but it is a physical endurance test of 17 or 18 minutes.”

Rob Martin
The bowman stayed at Oxford until 1993, researching lasers and optical switches for telecommunications applications. He then moved to Glasgow to take up a lectureship in the physics department at Strathclyde University, where he is a professor and was director of research for three years.

Joe Michels
Continued his rowing career and was Oxford president in 1992. He was also part of the Leander crew that included Pinsent and Steve Redgrave which won the 1995 Prince Philip Challenge Cup in record time at Henley Royal Regatta. He worked for Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and was then science advisor for US Senator Richard Lugar on Capitol Hill. After five years as a lecturer at Princeton University, he is managing director of One Equity Partners, part of the JPMorgan Chase bank.

Pete Bridge
Success with the Oxford crews in 1991 and 1992 was the springboard to a place in the Great Britain eight at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. A lawyer, he spent several years as a management consultant and investment banker. He is now a partner in an executive search business in the City, responsible for managing the careers of senior executives and politicians. He was the umpire in last year’s Boat Race.

Hamish Hume
After winning again in 1992, he returned to the US to complete his legal studies. He has been practising law in Washington DC. Hume is married to Andrea Richter, who was president of the victorious 1995 Oxford women’s lightweight crew.

Cal McLennan
He was in the 1992 crew and then rowed at the world championships in 1993 and 1995, and was also a reserve at the Atlanta Olympics. A doctor, he has spent much of the past four years in Blantyre, Malawi, investigating immunity to major tropical diseases. He now does clinical research into tropical diseases for GlaxoSmithKline at Birmingham University.

Matthew Pinsent
After winning his first Olympic medal with Steve Redgrave in the coxless pairs the following year, Pinsent rowed for Oxford again as president in 1993. In a 13-year career, he won four Olympic gold medals, 10 world championship gold medals and 12 Henley medals. Knighted for services to sport in 2005, he is a sports reporter with the BBC.

Richard Young
A back injury put paid to his rowing career in 1991 although he continued to coach the university’s men’s and women’s crews while finishing his medical degree. After a spell in Hong Kong, he is now a plastic surgeon at Great Ormond Street hospital.

Rupert Obholzer
The stroke and president of the Oxford University Boat Club in 1991 won a world championship bronze medal in the coxless four with Jonny Searle, Greg Searle and Tim Foster in 1994 and a silver in 1995. He also rowed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. He umpired the Boat Race in 2001 and is a member of Molesey Boat Club.

Neil Chugani
The Oxford cox won a host of medals. He enjoyed success for Great Britain and had a hat trick of wins in the Prince Philip Challenge Cup with Pinsent, Michels and Redgrave. A chartered accountant, he was a member of the management team at BSkyB responsible for the launch of Sky Digital in 1998. After working for Goldman Sachs, he is now chief financial officer of BBC World-wide. A rower for Molesey, he is also an administrator in the sport.

ESPN Classic, Sky channel 442, will show the 1991 Boat Race at 9pm, Sunday 23

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