School rugby gets overhaul
Focus on First XV detrimental to overall participation
New Zealand Rugby will introduce new guidelines on more “ethical and inclusive policies” for player recruitment in college rugby. It was one of many revelations in a report released yesterday after the completion of an independent review into New Zealand secondary schools rugby.
The report — which consulted several parties involved in New Zealand’s secondary schools rugby environment — was particularly damning of First XV rugby and the recruitment practices of some schools.
Many of the people surveyed expressed concerns over the recruitment practices of some schools, a sentiment later echoed in a report by the Herald last month revealing 10 Auckland schools said they would boycott St Kentigern College in this year’s 1A competition due to their recruitment policy.
“There is widespread concern over the impacts of player recruitment into selected schools. Some of these consequences may be unintended,” said the report.
New Zealand Rugby chief rugby officer Nigel Cass said he was satisfied the wide-ranging review — completed in October before the St Kentigern boycott story broke — was thorough enough to address the issue and the concerns of the schools.
“We will implement the review’s recommendation to develop guidelines for the number of new-to-school players and player transfer and enticements,” he said in an email statement.
“The review was very thorough and wide-ranging and we’re satisfied it addresses the issues around performance level rugby in secondary schools.”
Cass said the new governance structure recommended in the review will ensure NZR has a “greater leadership role in ensuring these guidelines are implemented”.
Last month, College Sport, the body that oversees Auckland school sport, confirmed an independent panel to investigate complaints from the 10 Auckland schools regarding the way St Kentigern recruit some players.
This investigation is separate from the review conducted by NZR.
The NZR report also found the number of boys playing rugby in secondary schools is trending downwards at an “alarming rate”. Participants in the review pointed to the concentration of rugby talent at certain schools as one of the main reasons for the decline.
“In general, they view the pooling of talent into a few strong rugby schools as a significant factor in the decrease of numbers playing the game because of flow-on effects of, for example, uneven competitions,” said the report.
“A relatively small number of schools are recognised as having very strong rugby programmes that promote high performance.
“The impact of these programmes is, however, creating disquiet and questionable outcomes.
Among the recommendations to grow participation among boys are clearly defined “performance” grades, the introduction of rules to promote safety, and other forms of rugby such as quick rip, sevens and 10s.
On the other hand, the growth of the sport among girls was accelerating, according to the report, with the popularity of the Black Ferns and women’s rugby also seemingly at an all-time high.
Cass said NZR would be working to implement more equitable resourcing for girls’ rugby.
“Girls’ rugby is the fastest growing area of our game and we have an
As recommended in the review, we’ll be establishing and implementing measures to make sure girls’ rugby at co-ed secondary school level is equitably resourced alongside boys’ rugby. Nigel Cass
exciting challenge to make sure all girls have opportunities to play rugby in a fun, safe and positive environment,” he said.
“We’ve already increased our support and resourcing for women’s rugby, and there’s always more that can be done.
“As recommended . . . we’ll be establishing and implementing measures to make sure girls’ rugby at co-ed secondary school level is equitably resourced alongside boys’ rugby. And, in schools where girls’ rugby is a ‘new’ sport, we’ll be working alongside schools to encourage them to adequately resource their teams.”