1A Principals Reinforce Focus On Students In Agreement To Return 1A Rugby To Traditional Roots

The 2023 Auckland 1A 1st XV Season will see a return to the core values of secondary schools rugby with a decision made by the Principals to decline live broadcasts of matches. This decision has been made with a strong and necessary emphasis on the wellbeing of students at a time when secondary schools rugby players are being exposed to an unhealthy level of scrutiny in both traditional and social media.

As well as taking the decision to make the competition broadcast-free, the Principals have also agreed that matches will not be live-streamed, and that no media interviews will be given before or during the season by coaches or players. Instead, schools will continue to encourage their student bodies and wider communities to continue to attend games in person.

“As educators we have become increasingly wary of organisations and individuals seeking to treat secondary schools rugby as an extension of the professional game,” says Pat Drumm, Headmaster, Mt Albert Grammar School.

“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.”

The 2022 1A schools - St Peter’s College, Kelston Boys’ High School, Sacred Heart College, De La Salle College, Saint Kentigern College, King’s College, Mt Albert Grammar School, Dilworth School, Auckland Grammar School, Liston College, Tangaroa College, Aorere College and in 2023, potentially St Paul’s College and/or Macleans College - represent a broad cross-section of Tāmaki-Makaurau and are geographically spread across the Isthmus. Each school has its own special history and traditions, and within the competition a number of rivalries have developed which add immeasurably to the prestige of representing a school’s 1st XV.

The Principals believe that prestige does not require further exposure, augmentation or commercialisation. While there is a consensus that many of the young men involved in this competition will aspire to playing professionally, those in charge of the professional game should have the necessary resources to evaluate these young men in a live setting. We would welcome those organisations to talk to us about joining our school communities at fixtures throughout the season.

“In many cases we are dealing with players as young as 14 or 15, and we do not believe they have the requisite mechanisms to cope with the at times unwanted and unregulated attention that has been allowed to develop in this space,” says Myles Hogarty, Principal of De La Salle College.

“Too often we have seen the negative impacts of unnecessary hype. Many of our students already feel enormous pressure when they take the field. It is our job as Principals to create safer environments for all of our students and we believe this course of action is entirely appropriate given what appears to be a greater emphasis than ever on commercialising school sport and the potential exploitation of those who choose to play it.

The 1A principals stand by this decision, taken unanimously in October, 2022. No further explanation will be provided at this time, though the 1A Principals would like to reinforce to each of their school communities that they will always be welcome to appropriately support their school, and school teams, on game days.

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