Dilworth College First XV beat Auckland Grammar School 13-10 last weekend. Photo / NZME composite
Dilworth College First XV beat Auckland Grammar School 13-10 last weekend. Photo / NZME composite
The minnows who pulled off the biggest upset of the Auckland 1A First XV competition have acknowledged they were at fault for having the result scratched.
Previously unbeaten Grammar were expected to breeze past theirneighbours from down the road, but instead a famous victory was won by Dilworth, who sat near the bottom of the table.
But the win was to be tarnished with controversy, as in the following days it emerged that Dilworth had fielded players who were ineligible to play after transferring from other schools to Dilworth, according to a College Sport Auckland bylaw.
That bylaw states that a player transferring schools must stand down for six matches in the 1A competition, which Dilworth believed they had adhered to.
The misunderstanding came in the form of a promotion/relegation match that Dilworth played at the beginning of the season against Howick College. Dilworth had believed that match counted as one of the six stand-down matches and that their player would then be eligible for the round six match against Auckland Grammar.
That was not the case and College Sport raised the issue with Dilworth, resulting in Dilworth’s acknowledgement of their genuine mistake. They then accepted that the match would be defaulted and Auckland Grammar would receive the four competition points.
When contacted by the Herald, College Sport confirmed it had not received any complaint or appeal from Grammar or any other stakeholder about the round six match.
“College Sport Auckland did not receive a complaint or an appeal regarding the 1A Rugby fixture between Dilworth School and Auckland Grammar School.
“Instead, Dilworth School acknowledged their unintentional breach of a College Sport Auckland bylaw which has resulted in the match being defaulted,” said College Sport chief executive Mark Barlow.
Auckland Grammar suffered their first defeat of the season against Dilworth.
This was ratified by Auckland Grammar, who told the Herald they valued the relationship they share with Dilworth and had not appealed the result of the First XV match.
“Auckland Grammar School enjoys a good relationship with Dilworth School and respects them on and off the field.
“We did not lay a complaint with College Sport about Dilworth School allegedly playing ineligible players, nor did the School appeal the result.”
Also when contacted by the Herald, Dan Reddiex, Headmaster at Dilworth School, reiterated that the relationship between his school and Auckland Grammar is highly valued and that their acceptance of the decision by College Sport was indication of a genuine mistake on their part.
“Following our recent 1A rugby fixture against Auckland Grammar School, College Sport drew our attention to the fact that we had incorrectly interpreted the eligibility criteria for two new-to-school players.
“Our understanding and interpretation that the promotion/relegation game Dilworth played at the start of the season against Howick College counted as one of the six stand-down games has proven to be incorrect.
“We have apologised to the affected parties for this genuine mistake and agreed to forgo the four competition points gained in this fixture.
“Dilworth School has a long-standing and highly valued relationship with Auckland Grammar School that spans all aspects of school life.”
The result sees Auckland Grammar gain the competition points and once Auckland Rugby reallocate points, the result will be an Auckland Grammar win by default and a Dilworth loss.
As things currently stand, Auckland Grammar sit second on the 1A table with six wins and one loss. Dilworth sit second bottom of the table with one win and six losses.
Will Toogood is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He has previously worked for Newstalk ZB’s digital team and at Waiheke’s Gulf News, covering sport and events.
