Notwithstanding the gloomy weather and even more desultory performance by the Black Caps, the second test match against the Australians at the Basin Reserve was a great event for me and three good mates who had come to Wellington for the occasion. One of them, now a Professor of Accounting, had come from Seattle specifically for the match. Ross Stewart and I were both members of the same third form cricket team at Auckland Grammar in 1968. A few years later, we both had the privilege of playing for the 1st XI and enjoyed the great experience of our annual exchange with Christchurch Boys’ High School. Memories flooded back last October when Wellington College played Christchurch in cricket for the first time. There, in the Boys’ High wonderful new pavilion, was a photograph of the very team against which Ross and I had played thirty two years before.
Our friendship has been deep and enduring, forged so many years ago on the playing fields of Auckland Grammar School. It reflects, I am sure, a similar heritage shared by thousands of New Zealanders today, for whom the experience of sport in school has provided a profound and enriching experience. Long may it continue!
The enjoyment of school sport teaches valuable lessons that are ultimately just as vital as any conveyed in the classroom. It teaches youngsters, first, that life is competitive. For too long, educational experts have suggested that participation is the vital factor and that competition is largely irrelevant. But, as most adults would affirm, life is not like that.
Competition, fostered correctly, is a good thing which encourages individuals to improve. There is nothing like the disappointment of an early dismissal, to forge a determination to do better in the second innings. School sport provides a wonderful educational context in which the individual can learn to deal with both success and failure. In Kipling’s immortal words, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same”.
School sport is also a powerful teacher that “no man is an island unto himself’. We are part of a community and must learn to work together. What a pleasure it was recently to hear Sir Brian Lochore speak at a conference of secondary school principals, and to take on board what he had to say about leadership and teamwork. Despite the current predilection in professional sport, for individuals to self-promote, Sir Brian personified the great ideal of the team being more important than the individual. Such an ethos is a powerful message for our young people today, where an inflated ego is often elevated over personal responsibility.
Finally, and I return to the Basin Reserve test match, school sport is about camaraderie. Lifelong friendship is not something that can be produced through the acquisition of material goods or university degrees. And yet, as one gets older, deep friendships, rooted in shared past experiences, assume an even greater importance. I am very grateful to Auckland Grammar for the education I received, but even more thankful for the group of friends I made during an average, but very enjoyable schoolboy career in cricket and rugby. My minimal sporting feats have faded long ago, but the bonds of friendship have transcended particularities of time and place. “The Willows” provides an unforgettable experience for youngsters in perpetuating this ongoing and enduring tradition.