It was an illustration of the sensitivities that can be triggered even at the lowest levels of schoolboy rugby.
In a podcast episode titled “Who are the real suckers: Air NZ, alcohol brands or King’s College?”, Garner this week referred to King’s College as the home of “the children of the super-rich, famous and elite” before reporting that they had been caught cheating in an under-14 rugby match between two mid-table teams bidding for a top-four place.
He said the Mt Albert Grammar players recognised that the King’s players were of age and a protest was subsequently lodged.
Garner said King’s “were guilty of stacking their team with lads from other, older teams in an attempt to beat us, which they succeeded in doing. This isn’t jealousy, it’s cheating.”
“It has no place in sport and they have been given a curfew for good reason.”
He also argued that there was a safety issue in inserting older players into a younger age group competition and questioned the ethics of team management and parents, who he believed would have been very conscious of the age issue.
The U14A division is not a weight restricted league.
“It’s so disgusting and so wrong that I think King should be banned from the competition.”
But in a statement, Lamb explained that due to injuries and lack of player availability, the King’s U14 coach needed to call up additional players to his squad.
“Unfortunately, one of these players, who played half a match, was too old for the Under 14 category,” he said.
“This was a genuine error and King’s regrets the mistake. After our sporting director became aware of this situation, he contacted the rugby authorities and MAG early on Monday to admit the error, forfeit the points and apologise.”
A statement sent on Dunn’s behalf said the matter had been resolved and the result had been changed.
“As a school, we enjoy a strong relationship with King’s College both on and off the sporting field,” he said.
“We feel comfortable with both the process and the outcome and our boys are looking forward to getting out on the rugby field for their next match.”
College Sport Auckland chief executive Mark Barlow said he had not received any complaints about the match.
“The governors of both schools have dealt with an incident that occurred during the match,” Barlow said. “King’s College has declared the match void.”
