Given Britain’s gold rush in the World Championships in New Zealand, it was perhaps surprising that the team performance manager David Tanner’s highlight was not a winning performance but the silver medal for Hebden's Andy Hodge and Pete Reed in the men’s pair.

The duo went into the final on Saturday trying to end a sequence of 12 consecutive losses to their New Zealand rivals Hamish Bond and Eric Murray.

In the race of the regatta, the crews matched each other stroke for stroke, with the British a fraction ahead for most of the race only for the home team to snatch gold on the line.

Tanner and coach Jurgen Grobler now have to decide whether to keep their best two rowers in the pair or move them back into the four, where they won gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Tanner said: “We need to qualify all three Olympic sweep (rowing) boats next year at Bled at the World Championships.

“That's our first priority. In a way, the Olympic selection I suspect will look after itself.”

Of Hodge, 30, and Reed, he added: “They're our best two sweepers, they’re best in the pair, they’re best in the four and they’d probably be best in the eight as well. Yes, there are choices but it’s a nice position to be in.

“For them, what they do now is stand tall. They’ve shown to our team and the watching world the level they’re at. Everybody knows that the New Zealand pair and our pair are outstanding. They’ve demonstrated the good people they are and how’s that for being persistent. The fairy tale didn’t happen but they’ve shown the outstanding athletes they are.”

Hodge said afterwards: “It has been a great two years with Pete in the pair. There have been small margins and big margins but today was one of the closest.

“It was a really, really good race and I’m just sorry we came out just on the wrong side of it. There have been disappointing silvers along the way but this was a stepping stone silver of which we can be proud.

“Now it will be back to training, pushing ourselves every day against the clock and against ourselves to take it that bit further.”