Mahé Drysdale and Hamish Bond in our eight: why it didn't solve everything

In 2019 I rowed three seat in the Kiwi eight, with Mahé Drysdale in front of me in four seat and Hamish Bond behind me in two seat. Two of my rowing heroes, with four Olympic gold medals between them. We thought having them in the crew would fix everything.

What happened when Mahé Drysdale and Hamish Bond joined the eight?

We thought we had a couple of big dogs coming into the crew and it was going to solve all of our issues. It didn't.

"I think both Mahé and Hamish might be the first to admit that them being in the crew was not a silver bullet."

Mahé came from the single and Hamish from the pair with Eric Murray. They realised pretty quickly that the eight is a whole different beast. As experienced as they were, neither of them had made an eight go fast before. It's a different boat class. That year we failed to qualify the boat for Tokyo.

There's heaps of wisdom and inspiration to take from guys like that, but there's also heaps of learning a crew has to do together.

What was it like in three seat between two legends?

I was the meat in a Mahé Drysdale and Hamish Bond sandwich, and holy shit, was that an exciting but intimidating prospect. But I quickly realised we were all in the same boat, on the same team, just trying to work out how to make this boat go fast, and being starstruck wasn't going to help anything.

It all came to a head at a training camp in Italy, preparing for the 2019 world champs. We all had different opinions about how to move the boat, but mostly we were following Mahé or Hamish, like they were the captains of the ship. Then, on a swelteringly hot day in the middle of a 25k row, the two of them started bickering about how neither one of them knew how to move the boat. Four Olympic gold medals between them, and there I was in the middle, going, what is happening right now? It was so funny. I remember asking them both if we could just get through the session.

"As hilarious as it is seeing your heroes at each other's throats, it wasn't helping the crew at that moment."

It was still pretty cool to be in the same boat as them, and I learned heaps. The thing that stuck with me most about Mahé was his self-belief, and rowing with Hamish showed me how simple good rowing can be.

It was also a sobering moment. None of us really knew how to make an eight go fast, because none of us had done it at that level. That levelled things out across the boat.

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Why small-boat results don't count for much in an eight

If you're coming from small boats, this is the bit to grapple with.

"The eight is the ultimate team sport and your results from previous small boats kind of don't count for much once you're in that big boat."

It's a completely different beast, and the best athletes are the ones who can adapt quickly. If you're the big engine coming in, be stealthy with your power and blend it into the crew's rhythm.

Which seat in a rowing eight matters most?

In an eight the seats are numbered from the bow, which is why Hamish in two seat sat behind me and Mahé in four seat sat in front. I rowed three seat for six or seven years before moving to seven seat for Tokyo, where we blew our heat and then won gold. I found three seat the harder of the two, and I've written about why three seat was harder than seven.

I had a chat recently with a smart, really capable rower sitting in three seat of a crew that's going really well. He reckoned he could get more out of himself in five or seven seat. I zoomed out a bit: your crew's going really well, and you're in three seat. I think a lot of it comes down to other people's opinions of what a three seat is.

"Why not double down and be the best three-seat that you line up against?"

It's a leadership opportunity. You're still in the boat, and you still have so much positive impact. Three seat is one of the most undervalued seats in an eight. Don't risk changing seats purely out of pride.

It's the same lesson I learned sitting between Mahé and Hamish. What moves an eight is the whole crew working out together how to make it go fast.

Try this

• If a big name joins your crew, take the wisdom and the inspiration, then do the learning together as a crew.
• If you're coming from small boats, expect to adapt. Your results there won't count for much in the eight.
• If you're in three seat and the crew is going well, double down and be the best three seat you line up against.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a star to fix the crew. We did in 2019, and it didn't.
• Being starstruck. You're all in the same boat, trying to make it go fast.
• Chasing a seat out of pride. If the crew's going well, the seat you're in is a chance to lead.