Included in the bombshell media release by Auckland’s 1A school principals yesterday which outlined why they were banning their First XV matches from being broadcast in a bid to return their students to “core values”, was one particularly explosive line which may have been aimed squarely at New Zealand Rugby.
Delivered by Pat Drumm, the headmaster of Mt Albert Grammar School, it read: “As educators we have become increasingly wary of organisations and individuals seeking to treat secondary schools rugby as an extension of the professional game.”
Given this message has been delivered after moves by NZ Rugby, a Sky Television stakeholder, to take over the running of secondary schools rugby – to the horror of many involved in secondary schools – there can be no mistaking the context: Hands off.
There will be many who will applaud the principals' stance and not only because they present a compelling argument.
The commercialisation of First XV rugby has long been a concern for those worried about the ramifications of making household names of secondary school students, many of whom are ill equipped to deal with the attention. “Unnecessary hype” and an “unhealthy level of scrutiny”, is how the 1A principals described it.
And that’s before we get into the alarming drop off in playing numbers at secondary school level caused, many believe, due to the lion’s share of resources and attention going to those in the top teams at the expense of the late developers or those who want to play for fun and with their friends rather than for championships.
The Auckland 1A competition said the decision was made by school principals to emphasis the "wellbeing of students". (Source: 1News)
Moreover, even on a basic, administrative level, it must be said that NZ Rugby does not have a great record at managing competitions. The organisation wants to take over the running of schools rugby in order to stop the decline in numbers; many believe that would make it worse.
The NPC, once the envy of the rugby world, has been eviscerated by Super Rugby, which is now a shadow of its former self due to SANZAAR's flawed expansion dreams which NZ Rugby championed.
It’s no secret that the All Blacks are the priority for NZ Rugby – another reminder came only yesterday when the organisation admitted Saturday’s scheduling clash involving the Black Ferns' World Cup quarterfinal in Whangārei and All Blacks' Test in Tokyo came about because it didn’t realise the women’s team were playing at that time.
It was a remarkable, damning, and embarrassing confession.
And yet.
There is a sense here too that some schools are attempting to put the metaphorical genie back in bottle because many of those involved in the latest stand have, only recently, used their First XVs to bolster the profile and desirability of their institutions; that those schools which once offered scholarships or other incentives to attract talented players are now attempting to take the moral high ground.
It is quite the U-turn from some of them.
The principals refer to this in their release, albeit obliquely, when Drumm is quoted as saying: “The 1A schools have taken great strides in recent years in terms of the recruitment of student players, and we see this decision as a natural extension of our responsibility to the sport and to those who play it.”
Those with a charitable outlook may see the latest move as a continuation of the schools' own education and the personal development of those who run them. Others may see it, to put it politely, as a power play to put NZ Rugby in its place.
It is the unanimous nature of the stance which attracts the attention, along with the strongly-worded statement, and it may give cause to those in charge of other New Zealand schools reassessing their own priorities around first XV rugby.
There's no getting around it - NZ Rugby have been told.
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