The New Zealand University crews retained the Transtasman Cup at Lake Hayes yesterday, beating their Australian counterparts 3-1 in the second test of the series.
Drama followed the first race as the New Zealand lightweight men's fours lodged a protest over a collision between boats at the halfway mark.
At that point, after a few blade clashes, the Australians had a half-length lead. Then there was a noteable collision, from which the Australians came out better off. The New Zealand crew was unable to pull back the deficit, eventually trailing by 6sec.
The result was upheld.
The lightweight women's New Zealand crew was again dominant, racing to an open-water lead in the first 500m and never looking back.
Lisa Owen, Laura Tester, Ellyce Stehlin and Hannah Duggan finished comfortably, more than 28sec ahead of their Australian counterparts, as the sun began to raise the temperatures above zero.
The New Zealand heavyweight men's eight (Logan Rodgers, Daniel Bates, James Harvey, Rob McCaig, Isaac Grainger, Jordan Stanley, Scott Barnsdale and Jamie Saunders) also took an early lead in their first 2000m contest, opening out to a two-length margin, held throughout much of the race.
The two coxswains opted for very different courses towards the finish line on the unmarked course.
At the line it was an 8.43sec advantage to the New Zealanders.
New Zealand's women's eight rounded out the day with another convincing win over Australia, despite a far more competitive Australian crew.
However, the New Zealand crew was too strong, building its lead to an eventual 10.83sec margin.
The final test in the series will be held at Lake Hayes at the later start time of 11am tomorrow.
