1st and 2nd grade Rugby at High
Musketeers of the mud, 1939
The Headmaster, Dr K A Jaggar, issued the following statement in the School’s publication, High Notes on 22 August 2008:
After receiving advice from the team doctor and after a briefing from the first XV coach and the strength and conditioning coach, I held a meeting with the senior rugby group. For reasons of duty of care and discipline, I told them that depending on their training and physical preparation we might have to forfeit the Riverview first XV game and that, thereafter I would decide at what level they would participate for the rest of the season. I stipulated that during the July holidays and in the first week of term 3, 18 adequately signed logbooks representing 3 weeks of appropriate preparation, needed to be produced for the team to face a Riverview 1st XV. Mr Scrivener’s records did not indicate that sufficient boys had done the training required by the first Wednesday of term 3. Consequently, I took the decision to withdraw High from the GPS competition in first and second grade and to seek more competitive fixtures. High played Riverview 4ths. Subsequently, the compliance with the training log regulation improved, but not enough to risk a higher level game. High played competitively against King’s 6ths, Shore 4ths and Newington 3rds. This week [23 August 2008], they will play Scots 4ths. I have indicated to Mr Scrivener that if the training regime is maintained SHS will play 1st XV against SGS in the last round.
The structural problem of mismatches at first grade level has not been solved. Dr Vallance (Head of SGS) and I, after a joint meeting with Masters-in-charge of Rugby and Heads of Sport, have agreed in principle on a solution to our rugby fixtures problem for 2009 only. Association Football will be unaffected by the arrangement. The details of the agreement were approved at a meeting of the AAGPS this week. SGS and SHS will merge rugby fixtures and follow the SGS draw for home and away fixtures. All schools except High and Grammar will have a rugby bye round. SHS v SGS will take place as usual in the last round of the competition. In the age groups 13-16, SGS will play at A-C-E level and SHS will play B-D-F teams against the four largest rugby schools (TKS, SIC, Shore, SJC). In the open grades, SGS takes 1st and 2nd grade, High will play 3rds against TKS, SIC, Shore and SJC. By agreement with the Sports Masters at SHS, TSC, NC and SGS, there will be flexibility in some fixtures for rounds 5, 6 and 7 so that, depending on the strength of our 1st XV, it may play more than one GPS fixture at first grade level next year. This can be achieved by SHS playing at 1st or 2nd XV level against the school that has the bye round in rugby when they are scheduled to play High.
The GPS Heads will have further discussions about the future structure of the GPS Rugby Competition.
