Auckland secondary school principals have lowered a coverage blackout of their First XV competition, amid fears for the wellbeing of its players.
Twelve schools - Aorere College, Auckland Grammar, De La Salle College, Dilworth School, Kelston Boys' High School, King's College, Liston College, Mt Albert Grammar, Sacred Heart College, St Kentigern College, St Peter's College and Tangaroa College - make up the province's 1A competition, with Macleans College and St Paul's College possible additions for 2023.
Over the years, it has provided a launching pad for players who have gone on to lucrative professional and All Blacks careers, but the school principals have ruled that attention is too much for their students to handle, bemoaning an "unhealthy level of scrutiny in both traditional and social media".
Matches will not be broadcast on TV or live-streamed, and coaches and players are forbidden from giving media interviews before or during the season.
"As educators, we have become increasingly wary of organisations and individuals seeking to treat secondary schools rugby as an extension of the professional game," said Mt Albert Grammar headmaster Pat Drumm.
"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 competition has previously had to stamp out rampant player poaching between schools, with several refusing to compete against the main culprit, St Kentigern.
The principals acknowledge the career pathway their games provide towards higher honours, but insist pro teams will have sufficient resources to continue scouting players, without resorting to live coverage.
"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 De La Salle College principal Myles Hogarty.
"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 principals will continue to promote traditional rivalries between schools, and encourage students and wider communities to attend games in person.
