biggameplayer
Stan Wickham (3)
So are you saying by implication that no new players have turned up at Kings in year 11 (or year 10) in recent years?
Also out of interest, how many of the players who have played in Kings 1sts this year started at Kings in the Kings prep school?
gpsoldboy, I would like to begin by saying that I have no connection to The Kings School whatsoever, and are well aware of the recruitment drive they have had in recent years. Therefore, I am unable to answer the last of your two questions. I was simply highlighting that its hard to fathom that within the space of two years a team can go from consistently beating the likes of Newington, to being on the receiving end of a 50 point thrashing.
I would hate to think that if some of these schools continued such 'unsustainable practices', it would become an all out arms race. What if a boy were offered a scholarship to both Scots and Newington, or Riverview and Joeys. It is pretty hard to separate these schools, if you have little or no affiliation to the GPS. Schools will then start to offer 'sweetners' - thats when we know its gone all to far.
I for one are sick and tired of people trying to defend the actions of some schools. I watched Joeys 2nd XV put Newington to the slaughter in 2010, only to watch the reverse result in the 1s. From a marketing perspective, a winning First XV is great. But to develop the game itself, it has to start at the bottom...not in Year 11 or 12.