Rowing: NZ crews set for a night of finals

Mahe Drysdale (pictured), the NZ men's and women's pairs and the men's lightweight double scull all triumphed in their semifinals. Photo / Getty Images.

The majority of New Zealand's rowers enjoyed a successful day at the rowing world cup overnight in Lucerne - with one notable exception.

Two-time world champion double scullers Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen could manage only a lowly fifth place in their semifinal and will now line up in the B final tonight.

The rest of the New Zealand crews will be competing for medals in tonight's A finals, with Mahe Drysdale, the men's and women's pairs and the men's lightweight double scull all triumphing in their semifinals.

But Sullivan and Cohen were left disappointed in the heavy double scull, leaving their charge too late for their powerful sprint finish to work on this occasion.

The duo and coach Calvin Ferguson we're all visibly unhappy with the lacklustre result but they're not rushing to push the panic button yet - even with the London Olympics only two months away.

"Obviously, with the Olympics, we've got enough time to get their technique right," Ferguson said. "This is the first regatta for us - it would be nice to go better than we have but, at the end of the day, it's not the end of the world.

"We're still working on things, we're still going to get them right, we're still going to go fast."

Part of the problem for the pair was the prevailing tail-wind during the race. Ferguson explained the conditions didn't suit his rowers, but it was something they needed to adapt to.

"Nathan and Joe, they're not the bigger guys out there, so they need to use their strength and their explosive movement. A tail-wind is always going to be a bit tricky for them but they're certainly capable of getting the speed and getting faster from what they're doing right now.

"We're just working on a bit of length and stability in the tail-wind. The guys have done it before in training - they've just got to make sure they put it into racing. So it's not a major at all."

Earlier, Drysdale was first up for the Kiwis and he encountered his first real test of the regatta in the semifinal. In typical style, Drysdale sat comfortably in third place before making his move in the second half to come out two/100ths clear of Alan Campbell of Great Britain.

Storm Uru and Peter Taylor also enjoyed a win in their semifinal, defeating Canadian world champions Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter with another row through the field from a relatively slow start. France, Germany and Denmark complete the field in what will be a fierce final on the Rotsee this evening.

Juliette Haigh and Rebecca Scown, double world champions in the coxless pair, showed their class in the semifinal with a dominant win ahead of Australia and Argentina. Great Britain will be the major final threat after emerging as the quickest crew overall in the semifinals.

The men's pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond won their semifinal to secure a favoured lane in the final, where they will have a race on their hands as the Canadian Olympic silver medallists Scott Frandsen and Dave Calder were just a second lower in their semifinal.

Emma Twigg qualified for the women's single sculls final in an outside lane after a third place finish in her semifinal, while Sarah Gray - recovering from an injury and working her way back into the women's quad - also started in the race and finished a creditable fifth for a place in the B final.