Eights are a highly intense game these days, with just 7 places at the Olympics, and the last of those excluded after highly charged heats (first through) and a single repechage (top four through). This year's bottom of the class were the British, left trailing in a repechage during which winners Romania broke both the Olympic and world best times due to the exceptionally fast conditions. But ROU's European champions and late-blooming qualifiers had been close behind the USA during the heats so their speed was real: could they beat 2019 world champions New Zealand anchored by the doubling-up pairs gold medallists Prendergast and Gowler?