The schoolboy rugby market

Things have certainly changed. A monster called professionalism, coupled with marketing and brand image, is getting in the way of education and causing a beast to mature at a worrying rate. Unfortunately I believe this issue in schoolboy rugby has simply gone too far, and regional school principals, rugby unions and SA Rugby must reach a consensus on issues relating to the age of rugby players at school level as well as the suspicious and sometimes sudden movement of players from school to school.

There are two very simple answers but they are made complex by the fact that private schools claim SA Rugby has no jurisdiction over them in terms of rugby governance, something which I completely disagree with. It is made complex by the fact that different unions have different principles, and people have different opinions on what education is. You’ll be justified in thinking, “Why does Greg think he knows any better?” Well, maybe I don’t but I have the balls to bring this to the fore and ensure debate develops around it. It is a now a focus topic of my regular Tuesday night School Sportz Buzz radio show on 101.9FM and I intend keeping it there until it is addressed nationally.

So what are the so-called simplicities to the illustrated complexities? Well, on the matter of age in school rugby the answer is that Craven Week, the premier measurement of the best of schoolboy rugby in SA is U18 – so then, should all school rugby be for that age group? On the matter of boys “moving schools”, SA Rugby issues a rule in conjunction with and support from the department of basic education that any schoolboy moving schools is prevented from playing school rugby for a season (the season should be measured as a term of rugby). And finally, on the issue of what education is: quite simply, anything that positively enhances the mental, physical and emotional aspects of a growing human being and shapes their values, morals and character is deemed to be education. All else is not on and cannot be accepted in the realms of public, state or private education.

The main stakeholders here are SA Rugby which represents the rugby unions, and the departments of basic education and sports and recreation. Schools are not there to be marketing models, they are not there to be the best rugby school. As a sports practitioner, I want sport to be part and parcel of the educational process. I do not want it to be the downfall of all that is positive – right now too many schools in South Africa are disregarding this responsibility and they should be held to task. I urge you to speak up and report defaulters to your local rugby union and then to Mervyn Green of SA Rugby who is in charge of schools. I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to get in touch with him for two weeks so give him my message if you get through. Let’s get back to the basics of all things good and ensure that rugby is a life lesson, not life itself!