Elite Pakuranga school St Kentigern College has been kicked out of next year’s Auckland First XV competition as other schools band together to boycott their recruitment policy.
St Kentigern College, which is a fee-paying independent school, admitted to recruiting five senior elite players from rival 1st XV’s to strengthen their squad for 2019, NZME reported.
Mt Albert Grammar School principal Patrick Drumm told NZME the schools were taking a stand against a recruitment policy they felt were threatening the integrity of college rugby in Auckland.
“We needed to take a strong leadership stand, as a recruitment strategy like this is not what school sport should be about,” Drumm said.
“The integrity and credibility of the competition is challenged by targeting elite players from around the country.”
NZME reported that St Kentigern principal David Hodge insisted the school had not broken any rules and has called on College Sport and NZ Rugby to intervene.
