Surbiton’s Moe Sbihi admitted he and partner Alex Gregory had not had it all their own way as they won the men’s pair final at the British team trials on Sunday.

The duo had finished second to Molesey Boat Club’s George Nash and Will Satch in their heat on Saturday and struggled in their semi-final, but roared back to form to win when it counted in a time of six minutes 46.76 seconds.

Gregory claimed it had been one of their hardest races of the year so far as Team GB’s rowers gear up for the forthcoming European Championships.

And Sbihi, reigning men’s fours world champion, admitted they had been pushed all the way.

“By halfway we felt in control, but up until that point we really didn’t,” he said.

“It’s not been the best of weekends for us, we were trying to show that we were lead pair throughout the season.

“The first two races didn’t go as well as we would have hoped.

“We weren’t dominating in the fashion we would have liked too, so to do that in the final, and to get a win like that was really important.”

The Team GB squad for the European Championships will be named on May 13.