Wanted: six 'inspiring' rowers to join golden pair

Two of New Zealand's Olympic gold medallists say the possibility of rowing in an eight is a real one, but no decisions have been made.

Former Dunedin man Hamish Bond and his rowing partner, Eric Murray, who blitzed the competition in the men's pair final at the London Olympics, gave one of their first formal speeches since their victory in Queenstown yesterday to the Property Council of New Zealand national conference.

When asked about rumours the pair would join fellow Olympic gold medallist Mahe Drysdale and others to form an eight, Murray said the pair had given it some thought.

"We've got some people that are there; the problem is we need people that have a similar drive and focus as what we've got.

"We haven't seen anything really inspiring from the guys that went away last year - they went away, [didn't] qualify and then spent 13 weeks eating and getting fat."

Bond - who has only put on 1kg since the Olympic final - said the sport's funding was determined on a performance-based model and, in recent years, New Zealand had enjoyed success in smaller boats.

While the pair said rowing in the 2016 Rio Olympics was "on the cards in some way or another", no firm decisions had been made.

"Your heart's got to be in it," Murray said. "It's easier to do it when you're winning ... but it's a four-year commitment.

The pair said they were largely unaware of the hype building in New Zealand before their Olympic race, and any pressure they felt was self-applied.

"It was going to be us that was going to be far more disappointed than anyone else [if we lost]," Bond said.

Murray said it was the first time the pair had raced with stands on both sides of the course.

"Coming down into that last 500m you can just hear the noise picking up and when you hit the stands it was like white noise."

After crossing the finish line there was the trademark Murray fist pump, followed by a water slap from Bond - signs of "elation and a sense of achievement", combined with "a huge element of relief".

However, following the medal ceremony Bond said he experienced a degree of "aimlessness", having spent four years focusing on the race.

"What do you do now? It was quite bizarre.

"Having had that single purpose for the past four years and [it] being completed, you'd think you'd get this massive sense of self [satisfaction], but you're a little bit lost as well."

Since returning to New Zealand, Murray said life had been a "whirlwind".

"We just go about our daily routine as rowers and go about our business trying to succeed on the world stage, but there has been so much enjoyment [for us] seeing the reaction."

While Bond had not yet found time to visit his parents in Twizel, the men would be in Dunedin next weekend to watch the All Blacks take on South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium during their three-month break.