OPINION: 1st XV sold short in awards decision

There is always going to be debate around who deserves the top accolades at awards nights but last night's Bay of Plenty Sports Awards produced a baffling decision.

I was stunned when I learned the Rotorua Boys' High School 1st XV rugby team had not won the Secondary Schools Boys' Team of the Year Award, handed out during the ceremony in Mount Maunganui.

Rotorua Boys' were crowned the top rugby school in the country this year after beating Wellington's Scots College to the national 1st XV championship title.

Not only did they win the title - their first since 2003 - but they also accomplished the feat in our country's national sport: rugby union.

This achievement takes some beating.

But last night, the award for Boys' Team of the Year went to the Whakatane High School boys' rowing team.

Whakatane had a fantastic run at the Maadi Cup in March and their hard-working boys deserve their successes. But in saying that, this was still a strange decision in my view.

While Whakatane won five gold medals at the Maadi Cup they did not feature in the regatta's main event, the under-18 boys' coxed eight.

To say a national title won in the country's top sport has less prestige than winning a handful of titles at an event with 52 divisions is a stretch.

I must admit I hummed and harred about writing this column as I think Whakatane did very well this year.

But this particular decision fired me up, as I have already seen Rotorua Boys' miss out on recognition this year by completely being overlooked for selection in the New Zealand Schools team.

I had hoped last night's awards would go some way towards making up for that.

But it was not to be.

In my opinion, Rotorua should have won.