Ex-Walton Rowing Club man Angus Groom may be forgiven for thinking life in international rowing is easy after claiming a World Cup debut gold medal on Sunday.

The 23-year-old rising Leander Club star, making his second appearance as a senior international, was part of the Team GB men's quadruple sculls crew - alongside Sam Townsend, Graeme Thomas and Peter Lambert - that won at Lake Varese in Italy on Sunday.

Groom, a European Championships singles sculls finalist earlier this year, was a late replacement for injured men's quad regular Charles Cousins.

The crew overcame the disruption to nail a good start in Sunday's final, but Canada led the crews though the 500m with Germany also in close proximity.

Canada continued to lead and built a bit of a cushion, but the British quad stepped on the gas just before 1500m and not only got their nose in front but took a controlling lead - which they held to beat Germany and Canada into the second and third respectively.

“It’s just awesome," said Groom, who learned to row at Walton.

“It was just really, really high quality.

"We really dug deep and it felt like the rhythm of the boat was just where we wanted it to be."

Lambert added: “We have had a few mishaps in terms of our combinations this season, but this result - to get on the top step of the podium - is a credit to the entire sculling group as a whole."

Surbiton’s Moe Sbihi was part of the men’s eight crew that claimed gold at the first World Cup regatta of the summer in Italy on Sunday.

Molesey Boat Club captain Sbihi’s boat, which also featured clubmate George Nash, pipped rivals Germany to the title by just three tenths of a second.