The Great Britain Team consisted of World Cup leaders Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, together with bright new hopes Frances Houghton and Debbie Flood in the women's double sculls and the injury-prone Tim Foster as the British single sculler, recently recovered from a knee problem.

Squaring up to this formidable pack were Olympic silver medallists Sebastian Bea and Ted Murphy from the USA (men's coxless pair), with Irish sculler Albert Maher in the single. The women's double for the Rest of the World team were from Germany, a relatively inexperienced combination.

Introduced to the crowd by one of Redgrave's earliest crewmates, Olympic champion Martin Cross, the teams took to the Hampton Court Palace Long Water, a mirror-smooth ribbon just wide enough for two or three boats abreast. As they warmed up for racing, Lady Ann and Sir Steve Redgrave were interviewed by Cross for the crowd, together with British head coach Jurgen Grobler. Then to cheers down the course, the racing began.

Foster and Maher were first off, the Rest of the World team having won the toss and chosen the station nearest the finish tent, perhaps suffering a little from submerged weed. Maher gave it his best, but Foster's knee was in fine form, and after a slow start, he came bursting through with 50 metres to go, to win by one-third of a length.

The British women took it one better, blasting off the start and winning by more than two clear lengths in great style. Then came the men's coxless pairs, Britain facing a stern test of their racing start from the two competitive Americans. A little steering wobble from the USA made Pinsent and Cracknell's lives easier, and they won their individual race, making the first-stage scores GB six, Rest of the World nil.

After such a fine start, the relay would require a monumental effort from the visiting team. And they gave it their best. Maher again required Foster to push through, the German double did their best to hold the British women, and Bea and Murphy looked from the finish line to be leading for a while until another steering glitch let Pinsent and Cracknell through. To the delight of the crowd, it was Great Britain twelve, Rest of the World nil, the first clean sweep in Supersprint Rowing.

Despite Sir Steve Redgrave's assertion "whatever country you come from, you have a chance over 350 metres", the evening belonged to the hosts. Out came the medals, Matthew Pinsent autographed everything he was presented with, including a dusty car-roof, and he and Cracknell roared away on their motorbikes, leaving the crowd, as ever, wanting more.