Saint Kentigern College is standing down new rugby players following protests from a number of other schools about its player recruitment policy.
The school said in a media release this week that it is looking forward to all schools continuing to play in the upcoming Auckland 1st XV 1A Boys rugby championship following the conclusion of an independent review panel process established by College Sport Auckland.
“We welcomed the panel’s appointment and have remained committed to following its findings,” Dr John Kernohan, the chairman of the Saint Kentigern Trust Board, said.
“The panel confirmed Saint Kentigern has followed the rules of this competition. We also accept that over several years we should have recognised concerns about an advantage being gained through the enrolment of students and their selection for the 1st XV.
“The panel made an initial ruling that this issue should be resolved by having new-to-school players stood down for the first six games of the season, which we agreed to along with one other school.
“We have decided to also agree to a further call from the 10 other participating schools for the two most directly affected players to be also stood down for any semi-final and final games.
“We are conscious of the impact this will have on boys who came to the college in good faith. But on balance and in the interests of bringing this to a close, the Trust Board has agreed to this extra step in the interests of allowing the competition to get underway and seeing students participate in their sport.”
