OLD Monmothian rower Steve Tuck proved a stroke of genius as he drove his US college rowing eight to victory in an epic Henley final by just three feet. The 22-year-old River Wye oarsman brought his California Berkeley University crew to the Thames with hopes of victory after a first US national college eights title in years, and they duly delivered in a classic Ladies Plate international 8s final at the 175th anniversary Royal Regatta. After disposing of a New York/ California crew containing five Olympians in the quarter-finals, Tuck led his crew to semi-final victory over the GB U23 squad by 1/2L. Henley-based final opponents Leander went five seconds faster as they rowed down Americans Brown University by feet in the last few strokes, but the former Monmouth School pupil said: "We knew what they were capable of, but we backed ourselves to get in front and then hold them out." Leander blasted out into an early two-foot lead, but strokeman Tuck, rating two pips higher than the Brits, had his crew fractionally in front by the quarter-mile mark, a lead which had stretched to 1/2L by the half-mile and 3/4L by half way. Then the Leander fightback began, as they whittled California's lead to 1/3L at the 1 1/8th-mile mark roared on by the 10,000-strong home crowd along the enclosures. But Tuck lifted his men for the line and they held off a furious last-20 stroke assault by three feet to take the trophy back across the Atlantic. "We knew they'd throw the kitchen sink at us up the enclosures if we were up, but we backed ourselves and just had enough to stay there," said the delighted GB junior cap. "We were down off the blocks, but we trusted in our race plan to stay long and high and come through and lead them. Slowly we edged out to 3/4L, but we knew from the day before that they had a great finish, and it was just a question of whether we'd done enough to hold them out, and luckily we had. "I'm just thrilled and I'm so proud of the guys, some of whom were racing for the last time." Monmouth School threw everything at Britain's top junior crew in their Princess Elizabeth Cup school 8s second round. But a stone and a quarter a man disadvantage into a brutal Henley headwind proved too much to overcome as they missed out by just over a length to Abingdon's National Schools champions, the Henley winners for the last three years. Having beaten Emanuel School, London, in their first round race by 2 3/4L, Monmouth – in their last ever event as a crew – did coach Robin Fletcher proud as they took the race to their illustrious opponents, blasting off the blocks to reach the top of Temple Island level. Abingdon knew they had a race on their hands as Monmouth kept their rating two strokes a minute higher through the half-mile mark where they were still overlapping the National Schools champions. At the half-way Fawley mark, the Thames school finally got clear water, but Monmouth tenaciously kept pressing, with a push at 36 strokes a minute approaching Remenham Club and a brave final effort along the enclosures of the 2,150m upstream course before losing out by just 1 1/2L. GB junior cap and Monmouth School Head Boy Will England, who is targeting the world juniors in August, said: "It was a really good effort. We just went for it and gave them a bit of a scare off the blocks. "It was always going to be tough giving away that weight into such a strong wind, but we held onto them, had a really good push in the middle and made them work for it all the way to the line. "For six of us, it's probably our last race for Monmouth, but we couldn't have done any more. They had all the horsepower, and they had to use it to hold us off. "Last year, they dominated us, this time we really took the race to them," said cox Gabriel Cronin. "They're the benchmark in British junior rowing, so I'm really proud of the boys that we pushed them so hard. We wouldn't let go of them, and every time I called for a push, the crew responded." Coach Robin Fletcher, who followed the race in the Umpires' Launch at the 175th anniversary regatta, said: "Early on when we were with them stroke for stroke, I thought go for it now guys, and they were moving on them. "It was always going to be big ask into that wind with such a weight disadvantage, but we said beforehand, don't leave anything on the river, and they raced themselves into the ground. "We were good enough to make the last eight, but the draw is what it is, and for the second time in two years we've had to race them. "There's no doubt the wind made a hard job even more difficult, as well, but we really tried to overturn them, and it was an impressive effort." Monmouth School Head of Rowing John Griffiths added: "That was really gutsy, the guys can really hold their heads up." In another gutbuster of a race, Old Monmothian Alex Butler and his City of Bristol Wyfold Cup club four clipped the man-made floating booms that make the course early on, but still came within 1/2L of sending Sydney, Australia, packing, as they all but overhauled them on the line. Fellow OM Dai George and his City of Cardiff crew beat Tideway Scullers B in the same event, but their crew then lost out to Tideway Scullers A who made the final, only to be disqualified 10 strokes from the finish line when they clashed with Upper Thames when the boats were dead level.