2022 School rugby
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School rugby is already starting to be excessively focused on a small number of schools. The same names appear again and again, draining good players from moderately good schools, and destroying rugby entirely at many.
If some of those games -- not evenly spread -- are televised, then that will start to make the situation even worse.
Waikato school rugby is not improved by the total dominance of Hamilton BHS. A few dozen Waikato boys get to play Super 8, at the expense of a meaningful competition for hundreds of others.
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So far 5 of the 8 schools have been announced to participate in the World Schools Festival in Thailand (December 12-17).
Grey College (South Africa)
Millfield School (England)
Hamilton Boys’ High School (New Zealand)
St Michael’s College (Ireland)
Sedbergh School (England)I know that the Hamilton BHS players are busy fundraising as it isn't cheap to take part.
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I find this quite puzzling. Schools are anti NZR cutting in because they feel it may put more pressure on young players yet it has been school behaviour all along to place a massive emphasis on their rugby teams being flagships for the school reputation. They have created this monster and I think NZR want to cool the flames a bit.
I have always been a critic of the rugby system that takes kids out of clubs, places a huge emphasis on where you attend school, then discards those that don't attract high honours back to clubs but they have lost interest and don't see clubs as a pathway because their mates have already taken the seats on the bus.
It has ruined club rugby as a pathway and stunted player development.
Those formative teen years should be about learning, not win at all costs and scholarships that come with pressure IMO.
Then you get the kids from non 'big schools' that don't even get a look in and the wasted talent. -
@Stargazer said in 2022 School rugby:
Just saw this on Facebook.
The Super 8 School Sevens are this weekend.
Did you watch any of this? I see that Hamilton BHS and Palmerston North BHS played in both finals with a win a piece.
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@Bovidae I only watched a few games on day 1 (one Napier Boys, one Hastings Boys and other game). Hastings Boys were seriously handicapped by the fact they had such a small squad with only 2 reserves. CJ Mienie is really something else. I hope he stays in our academy. For Hastings, I really liked Josh Leach. Daniel Toala (Danny's younger brother) looks promising.
I hope most Super 8 Schools will play at the Condor 7s.
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I watched the final on YT and the Hamilton BHS team included a lot of their 1st XV players, minus Aki Tuivailala and Payton Spencer. They might not be at the Condor 7s due to the close proximity to the World Schools Festival in Thailand. The World School Sevens dates definitely clash.
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It doesn't look like we have to fear Super 8 games will disappear from our computer/mobile device screens soon.
Napier Boys' High School rugby coach says players better for television exposure (from pay-walled article in Hawke's Bay Today)
We are either preparing young men for life, or we're not.
If we are, says Napier Boys' High School director of rugby Brendon Ratcliffe, then putting 1st XV games on television is a positive part of their development.
Ratcliffe said the recent decision by schools involved in the Auckland 1A competition to not play televised matches was "unfathomable''.
Napier Boys' High School, along with fellow Super 8 schools such as Hastings Boys' High School, have signed a deal to have one match a week broadcast on Whakaata Māori (Māori Television). Ratcliffe's team have also been regularly seen on Sky and he sees no downside to the exposure for players.
Even so, Ratcliffe, his fellow coaches, teachers and the school headmaster have held detailed discussions in the wake of the move by Auckland schools and talked to players individually to ensure there's no angst or anxiety about being on television.
"There's not one occasion where a game of ours has been televised and it hasn't been incredibly well received and positively motivating for a player to be involved in,'' Ratcliffe said of his five years coaching the school's 1st XV."Nearly all your time, energy and focus as a coach is put into supporting the growth of the person and equipping them to deal with any challenge,'' said Ratcliffe.
In the same way you give the player the physical tools to perform on the field, you also give them the emotional ones to cope with pressure, disappointment and criticism.
Life can be challenging, but Ratcliffe argues it's better to learn that at school rather than get a rude shock once you're out the gate.
"It doesn't make any sense [to not televise games] and it's so far off the mark that I think it's really compromising to young men. It's not a positive decision at all.''
There is a view that the importance, and exposure, of 1st XV rugby needs to diminish. That some schools are spending absurd amounts of money on coaches and high-performance programmes and rely on television coverage to satisfy donors and sponsors.
With so much money involved, the boys have to be on TV whether they like it or not.
"Seriously, you're probably talking to the wrong school and the wrong coach. We are the exception to the norm,'' Ratcliffe said.
"We fundraise, so when we go to play Hamilton [Boys' High School] in Hamilton, the cost of the vans, the food, the accommodation; it all comes back to the families. It's user pays.
"We're an anomaly, but we're also really important because we prove that you can still do it this way and benefit from the growth that occurs from it.
"You're building really driven, resilient young men who respect and appreciate their opportunities.''
Hastings Boys' High School were also approached for comment on this topic.
'Unfathomable': One of NZ's top school rugby teams doesn't fear bright lights of TV
Coach says decision by Auckland schools to not play televised matches was "unfathomable''.
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@Stargazer said in 2022 School rugby:
Hastings Boys' High School were also approached for comment on this topic.
They were probably sent a text 5 minutes before publishing time.
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It would be interesting to know how much the "deal" with Whakaata Māori is worth to the Super 8 schools. The commentators tend to be locals associated with the schools so I doubt they are paying for their time.
The difference for the 1A schools will be the demographics of the majority of the players. MAGS had been vocal before this year.
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@Bovidae said in 2022 School rugby:
It would be interesting to know how much the "deal" with Whakaata Māori is worth to the Super 8 schools. The commentators tend to be locals associated with the schools so I doubt they are paying for their time.
The difference for the 1A schools will be the demographics of the majority of the players. MAGS had been vocal before this year.
What do they mean by this comment?
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From what I've heard it was the pressure put on some of the Island boys that started this discussion about removing any live coverage.
This is an old article.
MAGS shuts gate on TV cameras
Latest breaking news articles, photos, video, blogs, reviews, analysis, opinion and reader comment from New Zealand and around the World - NZ Herald
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@Bovidae said in 2022 School rugby:
From what I've heard it was the pressure put on some of the Island boys that started this discussion about removing any live coverage.
This is an old article.
MAGS shuts gate on TV cameras
Latest breaking news articles, photos, video, blogs, reviews, analysis, opinion and reader comment from New Zealand and around the World - NZ Herald
Odd, it's not like Super 8 teams don't have a fair number of Island boys.
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@Nepia said in 2022 School rugby:
@Bovidae said in 2022 School rugby:
From what I've heard it was the pressure put on some of the Island boys that started this discussion about removing any live coverage.
This is an old article.
MAGS shuts gate on TV cameras
Latest breaking news articles, photos, video, blogs, reviews, analysis, opinion and reader comment from New Zealand and around the World - NZ Herald
Odd, it's not like Super 8 teams don't have a fair number of Island boys.
I don't think that's what the problem is. Great that NBHS doesn't rely on sponsors and benefactors but many of the schools do and someone has to pay for the value of the scholarships/ coaches/ facilities. Some kids have not only their own dreams tied up in playing well and the team performing but their mates' scholarships and pressure from the schools themselves to keep $ rolling in.
I wouldn't doubt that many of these things have been thrown at these kids as part of pre game 'motivation' even with good intentions.
Having had a kid that went through high intensity cricket programmes and selection cuts in Oz I can sympathise as it took us a while to understand the pressure he felt. We thought it was all great because he was making the cut but when we left Oz he admitted that he was glad not to be in that environment as it took the fun away.
Easy to say it builds resilience (and it does), but it can be at a cost. -
If Sky continues to provide live coverage there will be the opportunity to show more teams from around the country rather than focus on the same schools/competitions.
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I still think that the issue with "pressure" in the Auckland 1A competition is created by the schools themselves, their programmes and sponsorship/scholarship deals, not by a few of a school's games per year being televised. The scouts will still be there, unless they only permit spectators that can prove that they are family or friends of the players. Even then they might still manage to get in.
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The QFs have been announced (sort of) for the World Schools Festival in Thailand starting next Tuesday (Dec 13).
QF 1 – Grey College (SA) v Trinity School (ENG)
QF 2 – St Michael’s College (IRE) v Cardiff & Vale College (WLS)
QF 3 – Sedbergh School (ENG) v Millfield School (ENG)
QF 4 – Hamilton Boy’s High School (NZ) v TBCHamilton Boys’ High School’s opponents would have been Ratu Kadavulevu School (RKS) from Fiji.
Unfortunately they had to withdraw from the due to the country’s educational external schedules, which impacted on the Squad with 16 of their players becoming unavailable to attend because of their examinations on the proposed week of the tournament. The examinations were moved as a consequence of covid impacting term times in 2022. A replacement is for RKS is being finalised, with a reserve team ready if required.
No Australian school involved, which is a shame.
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