Auckland’s premier 1st XV schools league will no longer be televised in the interest of player welfare.

Principals from 12 Auckland schools in the 1A division released a combined statement on Wednesday revealing the dramatic changes due to an “unhealthy level of scrutiny in both traditional and social media”.

New Zealand’s Sky Sport has regularly broadcast 1A matches on TV and live-streamed others.

“Too often, we have seen the negative impacts of unnecessary hype,” De La Salle College principal Myles Hogarty said.

“Many of our students already feel enormous pressure when they take the field.

“In many cases, we are dealing with players as young as 14 or 15, and we do not believe they have the requisite mechanisms to cope with the, at times, unwanted and unregulated attention that has been allowed to develop in this space.

“It is our job as principals to create safer environments for all of our students and we believe this course of action is entirely appropriate, given what appears to be a greater emphasis than ever on commercialising school sport and the potential exploitation of those who choose to play it.”

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While many believe the televised 1A league has helped to prepare schoolboys for professional rugby and given them valuable exposure, the principals argued that “those in charge of the professional game should have the necessary resources to evaluate these young men in a live setting”.

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