GREAT Britain rower Colin Scott raced home fifth in his eights' final at the European Rowing Championships in Poland.

The Royal Grammar School Worcester product finished ahead of early pace-setters Romania in his British boat's six-boat final.

But Scott could not repeat his medal success from last month's world under 23s in Glasgow where he took bronze.

A slow start in Poznan saw Scott's crew in sixth through the 500m mark, where the Czech Republic had grabbed a lead they never surrendered from world championship finalists Poland in second.

The Malvern rower's boat forged past Ukraine before the half-way 1,000m mark where they lay three-quarters-of-a-length off the Romanians in third with Belarus fourth.

Belarus pushed into third with 500m to go, where just a canvas now covered the three back markers as the race for the line began.

But although GB slipped past the Romanians in the run-in, they had to settle for fifth as Ukraine moved back past into fourth, with the Czechs taking gold by a length from Poland and Belarus in silver and bronze.

Cambridge student Scott, 23, will now get a well-earned two weeks off after 12 months' non-stop rowing before trying to win a seat in next year's Cambridge boat race crew.

He has already made three appearances for the Light Blues reserves against Oxford, won the Ladies' Plate at Henley Royal Regatta with them and wants to cap it all with a seat in the blue boat.

Meanwhile, fresh from racing in the GB junior eight at last month's world junior championships on Beijing's Olympic lake, Andrew Finlay set the fastest singles time at the first time-trial of the long-distance season.

The King's School Worcester pupil's two sculling wins were among six victories for the school at the 165-boat Monmouth Autumn Head Race on the River Wye.

Finlay covered the one-and-a-half mile course in eight minutes to take the junior title and then went three seconds faster to land the men's senior three title.

Ed Mackenzie and Rich Pain won the junior double sculls title by just a second-and-a-half from Llandaff.

The girls' under 18s eight landed their class as did the girls' 16 quadruple scull and women's novice sculler Grace Wright.