Stop playing against the buyers of players

The decision taken by 10 Auckland, New Zealand, principals to stop playing against a school that has been aggressively recruiting established 1^st team rugby players, as reported in the New Zealand Herald

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=12171645&ref=twitter

has caused a bit of a flutter.

It’s not an original story, of course, and the movement of high performing players from schools that already have established rugby programmes to others has become quite common in our schools rugby. I’ve stated my view – it shouldn’t happen and it has to stop.

A respected headmaster of a Joburg boys school, apparently, recently pointed out to a conference of his peers that they have the power to end the practice, and it’s quite simple – stop playing schools who indulge in those practices. If the heads agree to that (and they already have in terms of the charters and agreements they have signed – not to mention by virtue of their non-negotionable duty to be educational in all they do), then there wouldn’t be a problem.

But there is, and at the end of the day we have to accept that either some headmasters are dishonest, or they have lost control of what’s happening in their recruitment departments.

An Auckland-style shunning of those who break the rules would work, although it will punish the players at the banned school who had nothing to do with it. No, we have to get everyone to stop doing it – simple as that.

I made the mistake of taking to Twitter to defend my stand on the matter and came up against all the usual excuses and justifications.

No-one is saying that providing better opportunities to kids who have potential is a bad thing. On the contrary, the success stories of those who have had their lives turned around through bursaries should be sung from the hilltops. I do some work at two Joburg schools who have foundations doing just that and have come across magnificent examples aplenty.

But that’s not what we are talking about, although those who condone the practice of elite recruitment often try to disguise it as some sort of altruistic opportunity creation. Yeah right! They are after more wins for the first team at the end of the year, nothing else, and they should try and pull the wool over other people’s eyes.

As someone in that Twitter thread I’ve spoken of pointed out, there are cases where players who are already on bursaries at good rugby schools are lured to others. There is only one way to do that: offer a better financial deal. That’s buying, not bursary granting.

I’ll give you two examples, and let’s stop stuffing around and name some names. There was an under-14 player, a black boy on a full bursary, living in a top class hostel at a school that produces multiple provincial players who didn’t come back after playing in the Glenwood under-14 Festival at the beginning of the year.

Then there was the Golden Lions Craven Week player, also on a bursary, who suddenly upped and left for Paarl Boys’ High – he didn’t move out of financial need or the desire to be at a school where he would be recognised – he already had been.

There are examples aplenty of that sort of thing and not a single one can be justified. And please stop telling us that the parents approached you. The only cases where that happens are when they have already committed to commoditising their sons and are looking for a deal (as is pointed out in the NZ Herald article) and I’ve been told of a number of examples where that has happened here too.

Our top rugby schools have excellent coaches and the players work incredibly hard, I’ve seen that up close and first hand. Of course you deserve success if you are prepared to do that, and you can’t expect success if you don’t. But if we are to be ethical and educational – and that’s not an optional extra, school sport has to be just that -  then we should work hard at developing the children who are placed in our care.

We certainly can’t go shopping about for replacements and reinforcements to ensure our place on the top of the pile. If you do that you have no right to crow, and those who try to justify what you do in terms of transformation, rugby excellence and professional career pathways are as unethical and uneducational as you are.

And everyone should agree to never play against you again.