RUGBY rorts at Queensland elite boys' schools will be investigated as part of a wider review into their cultural and sports programs.
The Great Public Schools (GPS) Association announced it would be following up concerns raised about its rugby union competition after The Courier-Mail 's Fair Play series.
The special investigation exposed the millions of dollars spent via discounted fees to lure young sports stars from across Queensland, interstate and overseas in the chase for premierships and marketing power.
The "imports" often start in Year 11 or 12 with little academic testing and are then slotted into the school's top squads at the expense of other long term, full-fee-paying students.
Association chairman and principal of St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, Peter Chapman promised earlier this month he would raise the prospect of a sports scholarships ban at this week's quarterly meeting due to concerns about player safety and unfair contests, but yesterday refused to be interviewed on the issue.
In a statement he said "it was unanimously agreed that a review be undertaken of the cultural and sporting programs" at GPS schools.
"The association continues to take seriously feedback from all stakeholders, including recently expressed concerns regarding participation in some GPS competitions . . . (and) looks forward to communicating with parents and members of the school community upon the completion of the review," he said.
In the past month, The Courier-Mail has revealed questionable practices by a number of schools to stack their teams, including Nudgee College's recruitment of one player who had already graduated Year 12 and Anglican Church Grammar School's direct importing of rugby prospects from the South Pacific nation of Samoa.
The strategies have been compared to Melbourne Storm's cheating of the salary cap and blamed for an uneven and unsafe competition dominated by a handful of schools.
Several measures have been discussed to address the issues after parent outrage over the safety and ethical issues raised in the Fair Play series.
The Australian Rugby Union and the schools recently discussed introducing weight rather than age division to improve player safety, but it's unclear whether that will be considered in the review because the association has refused to provide further detail.
Sports scholarships have been banned at Sydney GPS schools for a decade.
