ENGLISH ORTHODOX MEETS CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE that of all supreme teaching, is impossible to define. “It must not for a moment be imagined that de Havilland reached his pinnacle of pre-eminence at once. During his first season [coaching at Eton], grumbles were long and loud. Long slides, which he at once introduced, were unsuited to boys, the traditional Eton virtues of quickness and neatness were being sacrificed, rowing was a scramble, and so on. Even after his first successes, we were told that his methods were unsound and would end in disaster. How unwarranted these forebodings were, the history of the next quarter century would show. “During his twenty-two years, Eton crews won the Ladies’ twelve times, reached the final five [more] times and the ante-final twice; entered three times for the Grand, and once reached the final, once the ante-final. Thrice their time in the Ladies’ had been faster than that of the Grand. “The style he taught was free and smooth, smoother than any since produced [as of 1935], even with swivel oarlocks. And he laid foundations for the future, for during this period, Etonian representatives at the University rose to nine a year, many of the winning crews containing from five to seven who had learnt their rowing from him. “In the Olympic Regatta of 1908, there were seven Etonians in the winning Leander crew. In the Olympic Regatta of 1912, Leander with six Etonians won the eights against New College with four.801 “But the quality of his teaching is not shown by a mere list of successes. De Havilland inspired boys with a spirit of triumphant endeavor, of value to all who saw them and a precious possession to themselves, not only then, but in after-life. “He was sometimes accused by purists of sacrificing form to mere pace, but this 801 Two entries per country were allowed in 1912. R.S. de Havilland was because he laid stress on essentials, knowing that with time the rest would follow, and also because he knew that an eight is no machine, but is composed of living individuals who can give of their best only if they are not cramped.”802 English Orthodox Attitude Like Warre, De Havilland’s 1913 description of rowing technique retained several pre-Fairbairn attitudes and phrases: the oarsman sitting “at attention,” the body swinging forward “till the lowest ribs touch the thighs,” the whole body springing back at the entry, the slide as “merely an artifice for lengthening the stroke.”803 802 Byrne & Churchill, pp. 191-8 803 Fairbairn On Rowing, pp. 521-5 Byrne 211