Rowing: Uru brothers on fire at nationals

Brothers Storm and Jade Uru claimed three titles between them on the first day of finals at the national rowing championships on Lake Karapiro near Hamilton today.

In a day of several high-powered clashes, Storm Uru caused a major boilover in the lightweight single sculls by by stunning world champion Duncan Grant as well as Uru's fellow-world champion lightweight double sculler Peter Taylor.

Taylor led for much of the race before a week of hard racing at light and heavyweight level caught up with him and Uru sneaked through, just holding off a hard-charging Grant by 1-1/2 lengths.

Jade Uru, competing for the same Southern RPC as his brother but as a heavyweight, snared two notable titles.

He joined world champion Hamish Bond to claim the men's coxless pairs. The other half of the men's world champion pair - Eric Murray - and Simon Watson applied ample pressure over the 2000m before Bond's ability at stroke proved decisive.

The two leading crews were too slick for the high-powered combination of Mahe Drysdale and Nathan Twaddle.

Jade Uru was part of the victorious Southern coxless four who held off Waikato to win by less than a second.

Drysdale came up short of victory again in the men's double sculls, where he and Taylor couldn't catch New Zealand representatives Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen, who ensured Southern made a clean sweep of the four men's finals.

Another tight race was the women's pairs final, where New Zealand representatives Emma Twigg and Juliette Haigh narrowly held off Central's Rebecca Scown and Fiona Paterson.

Twigg couldn't repeat the dose in the women's double sculls, where she and Emma Feathery were pipped by Louise Trappitt and Anna Reymer of Central.

Waikato won the women's fours, with the experienced Paula Twining stroking the boat superbly to a one-length win from Southern.