Rowley won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships as coxswain to the British eight. It was his senior international debut and if ever the importance of the cox in eights racing needed proving, the television close-up of Rowley urging his team-mates on provides a gripping testament. He has coxed the eight to this year’s World Cup title, finishing with a spectacular win in Lucerne.

He took up coxing at Monkton Coombe School in 1990. In 1995 he went to Oxford Brookes University to study Technology Management and joined their very successful boat club. In his first summer there he coxed his crew to victory, representing England at the Home Countries International match.

In 1997 Rowley made his international debut representing Great Britain at under-23 level in the Nations Cup. His coxed four finished in fifth place. He also had the unusual task (for a male cox) of coxing a top women’s crew at the 1997 Women’s Head and finished in second place. In 1998 and 1999 he again steered the Marlow R.C. women to victory in the Head. He coxed a four to victory in the Brittannia Cup at the 1998 Henley Royal Regatta and was once again selected for the coxed four at the Nations Cup where he finished fourth.

Rowley was selected to cox the men’s eight for the 1999 season after an impressive performance at an international invitation race against the French in Paris. He steered them to second place at each one of the World Cup regattas before taking the silver medal in Canada.