There's been a big change in New Zealand's First XV landscape over the last few years – with schools increasingly focusing on "better people, not just better players", according to a new in-depth study about to be published.
The Spirit Of The Game is a long-term look at the health of schoolboy – and schoolgirl – rugby, examining the philosophy and practices surrounding First XV rugby in 13 boys' and 5 girls' schools by NZ Rugby World magazine, backed by Jaguar Land Rover NZ, sponsors of many school First XV teams around the country.
NZ Rugby World publisher Mike Hansen – a former Prep School Principal at Scots College – has talked to headmasters, coaches and players to gauge the health and direction of a branch of rugby that typically receives little publicity. In recent years, most rugby fans would probably only recall media controversies over some schools poaching players to better their chances of winning First XV titles.
However, Hansen says schools and First XV rugby has moved on a great deal: "From the schools I have talked to, there has been a huge shift in the last 5-10 years.
"It isn't about who's the best team, who's the best player, who will be the next All Black, who are the biggest rivalries…it's not about win, win, win any more. It's about supporting those players with programmes that make them better people.
"Most schools have adopted a much more holistic approach. It is about 'better people' not just 'better players'. Of course, schools still want to win – but even the traditional schools have realised that there are much bigger issues at play," says Hansen.
One is what happens to players once they leave school. If rugby has been their single focus and they don't make it to professional rugby ranks, such players can often face hard times, with nowhere to turn career-wise.
"If you go back 20 years, you'll find First XV players who just trained all day and barely turned up in the classroom," Hansen says. "Rugby was why they were there; the one thing they were good at. But not all of them will be All Blacks and a lot of them won't even make it to professional rugby – they have to have something else they can aspire to, and that's what most schools are doing now."
Schools, say Hansen, are insisting on an education-first focus, with First XV players unable to take to the field, in many instances, unless their grades are up to scratch. In tandem with that, schools are applying policies and practices which underline teamwork – with the "team" being the school as a whole.
Players are becoming role models – a term which has been used for decades to describe leading rugby players but which has previously not had as much substance behind it, Hansen says: "They are being mentored and given leadership training to help them develop as people."
The concept of school service was also being heavily applied – where players "give back" to the school in a variety of ways, including leadership of other students, organising clean-up days, house competitions, events like Pasifika days, some becoming prefects and working in with teachers.
"All those things – education, mentoring, leadership and service – is what's going into these kids these days," he says, "and that is what is driving a lot of schools now. It is still about winning for the school – but winning in terms of preparing kids for what they will find when they go through the school gates for the last time, not just winning on the field.
Hansen says: "This emphasis on well-rounded individuals and not just focusing on rugby or sport but on rewarding programmes for personal development off the field and behind the scenes to benefit the players – that's been the single greatest change we have found when talking to schools."
Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Steve Kenchington, says that sea change is why his company continues its involvement with 1stXV Rugby nationally and with several teams across the country. "We believe that we have an opportunity to share the incredible stories we are exposed to through our association with these schools. The nature of the competitions is what underpins our sponsorship. We're less interested in winning than in schools helping their players to become better men and women – this pursuit for all round excellence aligns with our values a company and that's what we want to support."
Hansen says girls' and women's rugby (in the last five years, girls' playing rugby in schools has grown by 84 per cent) also came under the microscope. But because of the recent spike in interest in the female game, it was able to take advantage of the new holistic approach and avoid some of the problems previously affecting boys' rugby.
However, one example of the success of the new approach was Napier Boys High School, which reported that all 13 recent leavers rom the First XV had either gone into university, a trade, a job or into a professional rugby team.
"They were delighted," Hansen says, "because what it means is that the system is working – it didn't fail anybody."
Hansen's own history in sport mirrors much of this change. Once Prep School Principal at Scots College before shifting to Papamoa and then changing jobs by taking over NZ Rugby World magazine, he was once Director of Basketball at the Wellington school.
One notable team member was Steven Adams, on his way to becoming New Zealand's highest-paid sportsperson. Hansen says the basketball and rugby teams shared the same ethical code, based around academic support and achievement, expectations, attitudes and an overarching respect for the fact they were representing the whole school – and not just on the court or field.
"The way schools are approaching the whole First XV scene has hugely changed," says Hansen. "You may have heard a lot of words about this previously; now we are seeing it in action."