The perennial fight between Boat Race coxes and umpires is coming to the boil, after two splendid 2023 races which turned partly on the actions of those steering, but for two very different reasons. The first was the brilliant decision made, partly instinctively, by Cambridge men’s cox Jasper Parish, which all but won his crew the race. The second is a more threatening issue, with both winning Blues coxes defying the umpires to an extent which has rarely been seen before, and which could one day lead to disaster.