WYE rowers helped Wales to one of their best ever Home Countries Regatta showings on the London 2012 Olympic lake – taking a record equalling eight wins and beating both Ireland and Scotland in victories for the first time ever.

Old Monmothian World U23 gold medallist Robbie Prosser returned from Cal Berkeley in the US to help the men's four take victory.

And two-time Monmouth world junior medallist and US college champion Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank was on board the first Wales women's 8 to win the regatta's Blue Riband 2000m event in the 63-year-old event, which was hosted this time by Wales.

Wales also won the women's coxed fours, the women's singles, the Para 1/2 women's singles, and the mixed Para 3 doubles over 2km, plus the sprint boys' quadruple sculls and sprint Para doubles.

The seniors included some stellar talent, with Prosser stroking a men's four that included Llandaff Henley Royal Regatta medallists George Cowley and Kai Schlottman, plus Newcastle British universities medallist Gwilym Johnson.

They were second 1/2L behind England at 500m, but were back to feet by half-way.

And the English had no answer in the second half as Wales turned the screw, pushing through to lead by 1/2L with 500m to race before storming home 3L up in 6.12.62 with Scotland third another length back.

Former Monmouth Comprehensive pupil Violet, who has been helping out with the school boat club's summer learn to row sessions since returning home from Seattle’s Washington University, was also in a crew overflowing with talent.

Rowing in the two seat in the penultimate 2k race, her crew mates were Oxford Boat Race Blue and world U23 medallist Lucy Edmunds, London University's Efa Wilson, World U19 medallist Emily Downing, two-time world U23 medallist Katherine George, 2025 Henley Royal medallist Heloise Wormleighton, World U23 medallist Georgie Robinson-Ranger, Thames RC's Imogen Wolstencroft and Leander cox Hermione Hill.

Wales grabbed an early lead to go through 500m 1/3L up on England, and stretched out to nearly a full length at half-way.

There were a few feet of clear water with 500m to go and Wales in control came home a length to the good in 6.23.93 with the English second a length up on the Scots.

Robinson-Ranger had earlier led the women's singles through every marker to beat England's Aoife Keane by just over a length.

And she was matched by Wilson, Wormleighton, George, Wolstencroft and cox Hill in the coxed fours, coming home 3L clear of Ireland.

Mari Durward-Akhurst also took the women's PR1/2 single, while Llandaff duo Rebekah Knight and Miguel Ferriera de Lima landed the mixed PR3 doubles by 2L from England.

Violet's scratch Wales coxless four had earlier come third 2 1/2L behind the Scottish winners after overhauling the Irish in the last 500m from a length down.

Prosser and the Wales men's 8, coxed by Monmouth RC's Taryn Birkett and including Old Monmothian Henry Fraser and his brother George, also came third the same margin behind winners England, with the latter trio also fourth 3/4L behind Ireland in the coxed fours.

Haberdashers' Monmouth's Keilah Greaves placed fourth in girls' coxed fours and eights, the former alongside Monmouth Comprehensive's Lola Jones.

Haberdashers' Tomos Weighell, Archie Cowton, cox Francesca Tryon-Green and MCSBC's Barney Shaw were also fourth in junior men's fours, while Habs' Yehor Tseliev and his junior coxless four came a close third 1/2L behind Ireland, and schoolmates James Wardle and Ed Smith were just shaded out of third by Scotland in the pairs.

But Weighell, Tseliev, Wardle, Smith and cox Tryon-Green were third in the junior boys’ 2km 8s before the first two and the cox, plus Cowton and Shaw, took a superb second in the junior sprint 8s.

That was matched by the women's senior 8, while Lola Jones’ girls 8s and Robbie Prosser and Henry Fraser's sprint men's 8 placed fourth in tight sprint finishes.

Wales also took victory in the PR3 mixed doubles and junior boys' quad scull sprints, making it eight wins in all.

Attention this week switches to the World U19 Championships in Lithuania, where former Monmouth Comprehensive rower Eleanor Lawrence-Preston will be hunting a medal for GB in the quadruple sculls.