Auckland First XV rugby to undergo major changes after proposal all but agreed - Gregor Paul

Sacred Heart players celebrate their win over Saint Kentigern College in the First XV Schools Rugby Union 1A Final last year. Photo / Photosport

Major changes to Auckland First XV rugby are in the pipeline, with a proposal all but agreed to create a city-wide lower-tier competition that will enable schools from North Harbour, Counties Manukau and Northland to win promotion to the elite 1A league.

Opening the 1A competition to teams in the wider Auckland region would be one of the most significant changes in the competition’s 129-year history, but the Herald understands that there is a strong view among principals of nearly all schools in the city that the game is in crisis and more needs to be done to retain participants and keep rugby as the number one sport of choice for teenage boys.

The plan has been under consideration for the better part of two years and is being driven by fears that the current set-up of operating in geographic leagues is negatively impacting participation by failing to provide adequate and appropriate competition.

In the last few years, the Counties Manukau First XV landscape has effectively collapsed, leaving heavyweights Wesley College to play in the Central North Island competition, while Manurewa High joined the North Harbour competition.

The Westlake Boys’ High First XV, last year’s national finalists, have become too strong for North Harbour.

The Auckland 1B competition has also struggled to be competitive in the last few years and there are concerns that the lopsided and non-competitive nature of the Counties Manukau, North Harbour and 1B schools competitions is putting some boys off playing rugby.

If this new proposal is agreed, the Auckland 1B league will become a region-wide competition, with 24 teams split into three pools of eight in geographic zones.

The top two in each pool will move into an elite conference, with the top two teams from that then winning the right to face off against the bottom two teams from the 1A league.

The proposal is now in the final stages of being drawn up and is understood to have the full support of all the schools likely to be impacted by the change.

College Sport chief executive Mark Barlow says he is expecting to receive something shortly.

“We are aware there are discussions going on with principals in the Auckland region, but we have not received a formal proposal,” Barlow says.

He says if a proposal is lodged, it will be presented to the College Sport board - who meet next at the end of March - and a process of consulting with the schools will begin.

Barlow can’t say, if the change is approved, whether it could be implemented to start this year - the schools rugby season will kick off after the Easter break - but it’s understood there is a desire to fast-track change for 2024, but certainly no later than 2025.

Auckland’s 1A principals are understood to be supportive of the proposed format as they see it as a fair means to alter the existing pathway without penalising schools currently in the 1A or 1B competition.

There have been previous attempts to broaden the 1A league into a greater Auckland competition, most notably in 2013 when former NZR chair Brent Impey and former All Blacks coach Graham Henry met the principals and laid out a plan to inject schools directly into the league.

That effort was rejected by the 1A schools, as it would have required schools already in the 1A competition to be kicked out, and that it would also have gone against the ethos of the competition which is to provide pathways and opportunities to all first XVs in Auckland.

One of the strengths of the 1A league, which principals are determined to keep, is that it provides less renowned rugby schools with an opportunity to hold a place in an aspirational competition.

And while the competition has been dominated over the years by traditional schools such as Auckland Grammar, Mt Albert Grammar, Kelston Boys’ High School and the fee-paying King’s College and St Kentigern College, the likes of De La Salle College and Ōtāhuhu College have won titles and created incredible experiences for their respective pupils and wider school communities.

By effectively merging the Counties Manukau and North Harbour competitions with the Auckland 1B league, no school is being asked to forfeit their place in the 1A, while the pathway to the elite competition remains open to all.

The top two 1B teams currently have an opportunity to play off against the bottom 1A teams, although some schools from the lower competition opt against taking part in the promotion fixture as they don’t think they will be able to adequately compete should they be elevated.

Changing the model to an Auckland-wide 1B competition will potentially come with additional travel costs as Whangarei Boys’ High School will be included, but it is believed that all the 24 schools likely to be involved have said they are prepared to accept the logistic challenges presented by expansion.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sports.