IT’S next stop Rio for Wye rowing coach Robin Williams and his all-conquering Olympic champion GB women’s pair, after they retained their world title with water to spare in France.

Victory in Aigubelette for Helen Glover and Heather Stanning came at a speed that even took the Chepstow-raised Old Monmothian by surprise.  

“I felt it was going to be a really, really tight race and they just tore it apart,” said Williams, who learnt to row under John Hartland at Monmouth School.

“The coach shouldn’t be that impressed I suppose, since I see them every day, but I’m just lost for words, quite stunning.”

It was the Monmouth Rowing Club life member’s fourth world title as a coach, following 2007 victory for the GB men’s lightweight four, and the women’s pair in 2013 and 2014, the former when Cardiff Met graduate Glover partnered Polly Swann.

Williams saw his duo seize control from the off of their six-boat 2,000m final, going through 250m already three to four lengths up.

And they never looked threatened as they stretched their unbeaten run to 28 wins, their last reverse dating back to 2011’s world silver medal in Bled.

An expected challenge from Americans Felice Mueller and Eleanor Logan failed to materialise as GB had clear water by half way, the US duo limping home eight seconds off the Brits in bronze, with New Zealand’s Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler taking silver four seconds back.

And GB’s winning time of six minutes 52.990 was just two seconds off their world record set last year in Amsterdam’s storming tailwind.

Before the championships, Glover said: "The project with Helen and Robin continues to excite me as we are still finding areas of our rowing to improve and are getting faster."

And after retaining the world title, she added: "We wanted to feel the pressure here of defending a title, because that is what we will have to do in Rio."

Despite victory, Stanning warned their Rio rivals: “We have worked very, very hard and it’s exciting because we feel there are more improvements to come.

“It was really enjoyable, but we were taking absolutely nothing for granted. Thinking back four years to Bled, we were clear water ahead then, but lost it on the line. We certainly haven’t forgotten that lesson, so we just had to keep digging deep.”