Fairness prevails in team selection

THE Eastern Province Craven Week rugby selectors need to be complimented on the fair manner in which they arrived at naming their final squad.

Earlier, there had been a big hoo-ha after one of Port Elizabeth’s strongest schools, Grey High, decided not to send its players to a series of trial matches in Cradock. At the time, there were fears the selectors might punish the school for its action by not including them in the final team to play in the Craven Week tournament in Durban in July.

Grey made it clear it would not allow boys to attend trials held during school time.

Nobody can argue with this stance because schools are primarily education facilities and not rugby academies, and their wishes need to be respected by all concerned.

One of the boy’s parents was so worried that his son would not catch the eye of the selectors that he drove the child to Cradock for the trials.

This was an unfortunate situation and one which can easily be avoided if the EP High Schools committee and the schools apply some common sense.

To avoid a similar situation next year, schools and rugby authorities should sit down at the start of the season to plan dates and venues which meet with the approval of all parties.

This should not be difficult to achieve because at the end of the day the best interests of all will be better served.

It was heartening to see that even though Grey High did not attend the Cradock trials, it still managed to have eight boys named in the final Craven Week squad.

The Craven Week is the ultimate showpiece to which every schoolboy aspires and it would be sad if obstacles are placed in the way of them gaining selection to teams.

By all accounts, the selectors have named the strongest possible team available and rugby fans will be hoping they fly EP’s flag high in Durban.