Elite schools look to poach rugby talent...

Crusaders first five-eighth Marty McKenzie attended Gore High School before transferring to Christ's College - CHRIS HYDE/GETTY IMAGES via Stuff.co.nz

Elite schools are looking to poach some of the south's brightest rugby talent, and Southland principals say the practice is taking its toll on small communities.
Christ's College executive principal Garth Wynne was travelling through Southland, Otago and the Southern Lakes last week, meeting with students who might be keen to attend the elite Christchurch school, which boasts alumni including ex-All Black Robbie Deans and former Black Caps captain John Wright.
"We've had a long engagement with this part of New Zealand," Wynne said.

Wynne said about 20 of the roughly 160 boarders at the decile 10 school were from Southland.
A year's tuition at the elite school costs $22,000 for New Zealand students and $32,350 for international students.
"Boys' schools aren't the boys' schools of the 1960s," Wynne said.

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