Are schools asking the right questions by boycotting rugby games against St Kents?
The most successful rugby team in Auckland over the last decade, St Kentigern College 1st XV, has reportedly been ‘boycotted’ by up to 10 rival schools over recruitment practices. What this will achieve, however, for the schools and players, remains to be seen.
There is no denying the landscape of schoolboy rugby has changed dramatically over the last fifteen years as the age of professionalism has crept in at all levels. Many schools in New Zealand run semi-professional rugby programmes, and those with the resources have been willing to put those resources to work in the recruitment space to bring in talent.
The move by a handful of schools to boycott St Kentigern College, in a way, affirms that they themselves hold a belief that talent alone wins rugby games. A belief that there is some kind of unfair advantage they have that cannot be overcome. This has time and time again, proven to be untrue.
Competition breeds progress and if you test yourself against the best you will become better. Boycotting a rival team robs their own players of testing their ability and improving.
Have the principals asked the students in their very own 1st XV teams whether they want to avoid playing St Kentigern College? It is hard to fathom that any team of elite, competitive, schoolboy players would turn away from the challenge of playing such a talented team.
The St Kentigern 1st XV team of 2018 was full of supremely talented schoolboys, many of whom will go on to play professional rugby. The team lost in the 1A semi-final to St Peters College, a side that went on to win the National Championship in a fairytale run of sorts.
The result proved again that stacked schoolboy teams ultimately means nothing and they can be overcome. For St Peters, the experience and hard-fought win against quality opposition ultimately fuelled them onto more success, showing that a tough road prepares champions. If the best players in the country are heading to the 1A competition, it is for the betterment of every player in the competition.
The decision to boycott a school shows more about their mentality than it does about the school being boycotted and perhaps, is a failure to teach the boys one of the most important lessons of all – life is sometimes unfair.
In life, when the odds are against you, you have to go out and fight anyway. What does this decision teach them?
St Kentigern will only win if they work hard for it, which is what they have done in the past. Rugby is a character game and always will be, talent alone will not get the results.
The decision to strong-arm a recruitment ban also ignores the fact they are only one party to a scholarship.
Is anyone forcing these young men to leave and join St Kentigern College? They choose to go. If principals want talented athletes to stay, have they looked at everything they can do within their own backyard first?
There is a saying in business that people don’t leave organisations, people leave people.
It’s not the case in every scenario, but if more and more kids are prepared to leave their teammates and classmates they have grown up with after three or four years, what does that say about the strength of the school environment? If you’ve had three years or more to get a kid to buy into the mission, the school legacy, the culture, the pride of wearing the jersey, and he still wants to leave, you haven’t done enough. Any 1A school should try recruit a current 1st XV player from a public school like Christchurch Boys High. Just one. It won’t likely happen.
There are plenty of kids who turn down scholarships because they are happy where they are. There are others who take up the offer because they want to take on a new challenge or need a new environment. In some cases, it’s just the right move for the kid.
If they are prepared to leave their hometown and move to a new city in search of something, it’s clear they aren’t getting it where they are and now they won’t get to play the game they moved there for.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments