Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
I see that Sydney Boys High have pulled out of the GPS comp because of safety reasons. They don't have the cattle to play at the top level and safety is being compromised.
It the article pasted below they mention that only 32 senior boys had signed up for rugby compared to 79 for soccer.
It's a sad day, but the safety of the boys has to come first. High is a selective school and was never going to be a hotbed of masculine sport, but old boys such as Wallabies John Thornett, Chris Whitaker, leaguie Craig Wing, and coaches Dwyer and Gaffney must have deplored the situation that their old school, just a few punts from the Sydney Football Stadium, is dropping out of the GPS comp.
The demise of High has been mooted for some time. I remember even in Matt Burke's day at Joeys, High being smashed at Hunters Hill by 70 odd and last year a below average Joeys team beat them 112-0.
That leaves only 7 teams in the GPS. It would be great if a school like Westfields (who won the so-called World School Rugby Championship last year in Japan), or St. Edmunds College from Canberra, could make up the numbers to avoid the bye.
Worst XV: Sydney Boys drop the ball after 100 years of rugby
Jonathan Dart | February 25, 2009
SYDNEY Boys High School's chocolate and blue rugby jersey will be no more when the Greater Public Schools First XV competition kicks off this year.
Citing safety, the school has pulled its teams out of top-level competition for the first time in 103 years. Instead it will combine its teams with those of Sydney Grammar, competing in the Second XV and B-grade fixtures. Grammar will continue to play in First XV and A-grade fixtures.
For three years, Sydney Boys High has had disappointing rugby results, because of mismatches in size and ability with those of opponents. The Greater Public Schools rugby convener Mark Ticehurst confirmed that the one-sided results had added to the risk of injury to Sydney Boys High players.
In 2007 the school lost all seven of its matches, conceding 633 points and scoring only eight points. Last year it contested only one game, which it lost to St Joseph's 112-0, before forfeiting its remaining six games. Mr Ticehurst said: "It was the safety issue that saw Sydney High withdrawing. It's an opportunity to develop their rugby, and although they will still be in a very tough competition, the pressure is off them to perform at the First XV level."
Sydney Boys High is the only public school in the GPS and selects its students on an academic basis. It has traditionally been competitive in rugby, but its students have recently shifted to sports such as soccer.
Last year the school had only 32 players registered in its senior rugby ranks, compared with 79 who signed up for soccer.
Nic Lochner, who played rugby for the school last year, said it should try to maintain its tradition of playing rugby in the GPS, one of the oldest and most prestigious schoolboy competitions in the world.
"The boys trained and put in their best. No one was afraid to go out there every week and take on the other schools."
However, schoolboy blogs showed little sympathy, giving an insight into the potential threats facing Sydney Boys High players. "Robbie Deans could be your head coach and the slaughter still wouldn't stop," said one on the website sportal.com.au.
A spokesman for Sydney Boys High did not respond to Herald inquiries yesterday.
It the article pasted below they mention that only 32 senior boys had signed up for rugby compared to 79 for soccer.
It's a sad day, but the safety of the boys has to come first. High is a selective school and was never going to be a hotbed of masculine sport, but old boys such as Wallabies John Thornett, Chris Whitaker, leaguie Craig Wing, and coaches Dwyer and Gaffney must have deplored the situation that their old school, just a few punts from the Sydney Football Stadium, is dropping out of the GPS comp.
The demise of High has been mooted for some time. I remember even in Matt Burke's day at Joeys, High being smashed at Hunters Hill by 70 odd and last year a below average Joeys team beat them 112-0.
That leaves only 7 teams in the GPS. It would be great if a school like Westfields (who won the so-called World School Rugby Championship last year in Japan), or St. Edmunds College from Canberra, could make up the numbers to avoid the bye.
Worst XV: Sydney Boys drop the ball after 100 years of rugby
Jonathan Dart | February 25, 2009
SYDNEY Boys High School's chocolate and blue rugby jersey will be no more when the Greater Public Schools First XV competition kicks off this year.
Citing safety, the school has pulled its teams out of top-level competition for the first time in 103 years. Instead it will combine its teams with those of Sydney Grammar, competing in the Second XV and B-grade fixtures. Grammar will continue to play in First XV and A-grade fixtures.
For three years, Sydney Boys High has had disappointing rugby results, because of mismatches in size and ability with those of opponents. The Greater Public Schools rugby convener Mark Ticehurst confirmed that the one-sided results had added to the risk of injury to Sydney Boys High players.
In 2007 the school lost all seven of its matches, conceding 633 points and scoring only eight points. Last year it contested only one game, which it lost to St Joseph's 112-0, before forfeiting its remaining six games. Mr Ticehurst said: "It was the safety issue that saw Sydney High withdrawing. It's an opportunity to develop their rugby, and although they will still be in a very tough competition, the pressure is off them to perform at the First XV level."
Sydney Boys High is the only public school in the GPS and selects its students on an academic basis. It has traditionally been competitive in rugby, but its students have recently shifted to sports such as soccer.
Last year the school had only 32 players registered in its senior rugby ranks, compared with 79 who signed up for soccer.
Nic Lochner, who played rugby for the school last year, said it should try to maintain its tradition of playing rugby in the GPS, one of the oldest and most prestigious schoolboy competitions in the world.
"The boys trained and put in their best. No one was afraid to go out there every week and take on the other schools."
However, schoolboy blogs showed little sympathy, giving an insight into the potential threats facing Sydney Boys High players. "Robbie Deans could be your head coach and the slaughter still wouldn't stop," said one on the website sportal.com.au.
A spokesman for Sydney Boys High did not respond to Herald inquiries yesterday.
