Hats off to the officials in KwaZulu-Natal. While other unions and their schools appear to either be turning a blind eye to this issue or trying to convince the world that the problem does not exist in their neck of the woods (when it does), at least in KZN there are ongoing efforts to rid the school rugby system of over-aged players.
The positive news regarding the monitoring for over-aged players in KwaZulu-Natal is that the KZN High School Rugby Association has indicated that this matter will be tabled for discussion at the up and coming AGM in November. First prize at the meeting will be to get consensus from all local schools on a way forward. Irrespective of the decision taken at the AGM, the Association has made it clear that they will still audit all players selected for both the under-16 and under-18 provincial tournaments. So effectively this means that at the very minimum, over-aged players will not represent KZN but they will still have an opportunity to hide their true ages by simply picking up “niggles” that prevent them from attending trials, where they would risk being found out if selected.
There is a lot more that can be accomplished than this minimum though. Ideally what’s required first is for all schools to agree to one system of reliable testing and apply it. This is a vital first step. Earlier this year, Westville headmaster Trevor Hall was quoted as saying “we have all agreed to support the investigation in the interests of fair play” with regards to the vetting process. However it was later reported that Westville had employed their own specialists to audit at least one of their players and then pass him. It’s not entirely clear how and why this came about but it certainly points to there being a lack of unity surrounding the manner in which the initial independent audit was conducted. Getting all schools on the same page streamlines the process and allows for the setting of a minimum acceptable standard in terms of trustworthy age testing. It seems pointless continuing with a situation where schools are entirely responsible putting in place and maintaining their own differing age test checks. It is now fact that these procedures have failed at several schools. So one approach is required and once this is in place, if compliance to this one standard could be regularly monitored by an external independent and qualified person or organisation, then even better.
The May/June audit also only covered players falling into the age groups from under-16 and upwards. At the under-16 level an over-age player begins to lose his commanding physical advantage as his peers start to catch up to him in both size and strength. However at lower age group levels, the potential for older boys to affect the outcomes of matches and even cause harmful injuries to younger opponents is far greater. Introducing a thorough auditing process at lower age group levels is probably far more crucial than waiting until players reach under-16 level. To reduce time and increase effectiveness, the testing of younger age-groups could be limited to the handful of players that stand out on the rugby field during inter-schools matches.
The audit from earlier this year involved a professional and must therefore have come with a huge cost attached. With regards to all future decisions made, it is unfortunately a reality that feasibility may be a restricting factor in the fight to stop what is essentially a criminal act. Hopefully with good cooperation amongst schools and better training of responsible officials at each school, this problem can be eliminated for once and for all.
Great article and agree All Black. A committee or tribunal for issues is required. I also agree with Greenwood, hiding an overage player would cheese me off big time especially after having to leave a legit player out earlier in the season….
If a boy is suspected of being over age there should be a committee/group that is given the name by the complainant and the committee follows up on the investigation. Each school could be represented on this committee to ensure that all the correct procedures are being used. There are still overage boys at prominent schools and we have not seen the last of this. Schools are just waiting to see who is included in squads etc for next year before acting.
I was under the impression that this topic was already adressed at union level and a plan was in place to varify age with suspect players ??
I hope that monitoring suspect over age players starts at primary school level whereby player safety should be foremost , expecially that the u12 and u13 years are combined and one could have 11 year olds playing against (14)or even older players.
We all know that a few schools bring in developement players into there respective affiliated primary schools to A add value to the kids life and B to secure good stock for the high school from a younger age and C strengthening the primary schools rugby team.
Im all for giving players great life oppurtunity through sport , but it is very concerning if some of these lads are not the correct age , over the years i have seen some guys that sure dont look Undee 13 and were clearly the back bone of the side , infact turning many average teams into winning teams purely based on size and speed .
If we arent monitoring this closely we will witness some serious injuries as has ocurred this year !!
My ten cents say here – again !
Westville -Glenwood not playing next year is not only about the Marne issue – that was just the start.
If I were the GWD Headmaster the issue with Westville doing their own “investigation”
into a suspected overage player would have ticked me off bigtime ! here again one cannot ignore the schoolboys’ comments – they know what happens at ground level and rumour had it at the time that there was a bloke that left Glenwood – went to DHS then went on to Wvl and there was talk amongst the kids about his age before this became general knowledge – I heard it and blogged about it on 365 at the time (the comment dissapeard from 365 a few minutes later)
It would be a safe bet that this won’t happen at 1st Tier Rugby schools again and the air would be much clearer next year – the dust will settle and rugby fixtures will be resumed after a cooling off period – anothet bet Wvl – Gwd games will be more intense than ever – something to look forward to