They looked good as they easily won their heat in a competition on the Lago di Varese which marks the season’s international debut for New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada in a season due to peak at the World Championships in Aiguebelette, France from August 30 until September 6.

Buit the pair will have a tougher test when they meet the new German pairing which has been formed this season and which has already won the European title, Marcel Hacker and Stephan Krueger, who maintained their unbeaten record.

Also making a comeback this weekend in the men’s lightweight double sculls were the Danish pairing of Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist, who have not raced since beating Britain’s defending champions Zak Purchase and Mark Hunter to the Olympic gold medal at London 2012. 

However, as another London 2012 champion seeking to come back this season with a view to competing at Rio 2016, Katherine Grainger, has already discovered, making good on a two-year gap is no easy thing.

And the Danes found the going tough as they finished at the back of their heat.

Grainger, with new double sculls partner Vicky Thornley, took an early lead over the Australian pairing of Sally Kehoe and Olympia Aldersey, who set the world best time in winning the world title last year.

The Australians forced their way to the front by the close, however, although both crews qualified for the semi-finals.

The other heat was easily won by Poland’s European Champions Magdalena Fularczyk and Matalia Madaj.

There was a dominant heat win for two more of Britain’s London 2012 champions in the women’s pair – Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.

The women’s single sculls looks like being owned by Australia’s 2013 world champion and 2014 silver medallist Kim Crow in the absence of New Zealand’s world champion Emma Twigg and Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic. Crow was an easy winner.

Britain’s top boat, the men’s eight, still smarting from defeat by Olympic champions Germany at the European Championships, led from start to finish in their heat. But the Germans also dominated their heat.

The men’s single sculls features all the top talent, and interest centres on how Croatia’s newcomer Damir Martin, who beat world champion Ondrej Synek to win this year’s European title, will cope with a full international field.

Martin won his heat with careful economy and he will need his energy for his meeting with the New Zealand’s Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale, who was also a comfortable winner, as was Synek.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s world champions in the lightweight women’s double sculls, Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie set the fastest heats time in a category which will soon bring them up against Britain’s London 2012 champion Kat Copeland and the new partner with whom she won this season’s European title, Charlotte Taylor.

The British pair also won by a huge margin.

Britain are world champions in the men’s four, but their new line-up – who won at the European Championships - will have to look to the repechage to progress after being beaten by world silver medallists the United States.

In the women’s eight meanwhile, the US world and Olympic champions maintained their long winning run despite heavy early pressure from Britain, who will nevertheless take an amount of encouragement into the repechage.

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