Christmas thriller at Karapiro as big guns do battle

The Christmas Regatta at Lake Karapiro over the weekend of December 16-18 will pitch the cream of New Zealand's rowers against each other in some fascinating encounters ahead of the New Year and the start of the build up to the Olympic Games.

World Champion Mahé Drysdale faces one of his biggest tests on domestic water since his 2008 clashes with Rob Waddell with a field that includes no fewer than five other current and former world champions.

Heading the pack chasing the in-form five time world champion will be 2011 New Zealand champion Nathan Cohen, who took his second straight world championship double sculls title this year. His crew mate Joseph Sullivan is also entered.

Sullivan is arguably New Zealand's most successful rower of recent times having taken a world title in every one of the previous five international rowing seasons. Alongside the big three will be Robbie Manson, a former Under 23 world champ and lightweight world champions from 2009 Storm Uru and Peter Taylor - the latter known for blistering single scull pace when not racing the double with Uru.

World champions Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh are entered in a packed women's pair event, as are the FISA crew of the year, the unbeaten Hamish Bond and Eric Murray. Both crews will face stern opposition in the form of squad team mates racing in pairs and it will be a good test of how their summer training has been going ahead of the Christmas period.

Emma Twigg should have a more comfortable run in the women's premier single scull, though that event too is brimming with international Kiwi talent. There will also be plenty of interest in a new look women's eight being raced, and in the appearance of a fit again Simon Watson in the men's squad quad scull.