New Zealand rowers start an unprecedented six finals at Henley Royal Regatta

New Zealand athletes reached an unprecedented six finals today at the Henley Royal Regatta, dominating the results and the headlines.

All of the talk amongst the 100,000 plus crowd was of the New Zealander's skills in small boats and the team did not disappoint - with the women's quadruple scull, Nathan Cohen and Matthew Trott, Mahe Drysdale, the men's lightweight four, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray and Emma Twigg all making Sunday’s finals after contrasting semi-finals.

The three toughest races were undoubtedly those of the men's pair, the women's quad and the men's light four. The women's quadruple scull of Harriet Austin, Sarah Barnes, Louise Trappit and Genevieve Armstrong faced a tough semi final draw against Sichuan Rowing Association, a relatively unknown crew from China but one brimming with national squad calibre athletes. The Chinese took the early initiative but the Waiariki crew, stroked with some aplomb by Austin, battled its way level and then through into the lead to record a great win and seal a place in the final against the British quad which finished one place ahead of them at the Munich World Cup and who beat the New Zealand 'B' quad today.

Headwind conditions didn't bode particularly well for the lightweight four against a heavyweight Italian four that finished seventh at the Banyoles World Cup, but another gutsy performance kept Richard Beaumont, Todd Petherick, Graham Oberlin-Brown and James Lassche well in the hunt as the race progressed. Entering the last few hundred metres level with the Italians, they raised their rate and their speed and piled on the pressure, taking a small lead and forcing the Italian crew into a costly steering error that saw them collide with the very unforgiving wooden booms on one of the day's most exciting races. A date with Britain's heavyweight four awaits them in the final.

Facing the top British boat of Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed on home water, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond were up against it but responded with a mesmerising performance that saw them race through the British boat by half way, and then carve out a two and half length lead. The British were unable to respond and the Kiwi pair romped home to a surprisingly popular win.

Mahe Drysdale will have to stand Duncan Grant a beer after a straightforward win against Belgian Tim Maeyens, who endured a tough semi final against the New Zealand lightweight yesterday. The good omens continued for Mahe when arch rivals Alan Campbell and Olaf Tufte went head to head in the other semi final. Campbell prevailed after a hard battle and the two friends line up for a repeat of their 2007 final.

2005 world champion Juliette Haigh was looking good to make it an all Kiwi final in the women's single sculls after Emma Twigg breezed through her semi final, but a brief loss of a blade cost the West End sculler dearly and she lost to Stone of the USA by just a length. Twigg, however, must start as favourite.

Nathan Cohen and Matthew Trott proved too strong for Storm Uru and Peter Taylor in the double sculls, and no doubt the lightweights would have been disappointed by the healthy margin by which their team mates won. The Munich silver medallists face the Olympic bronze medallists Steve Rowbotham and Matthew Wells of Great Britain in what also promises to be an exceptional final on a stunning day in the sun for New Zealand rowers.