Marlborough college in dispute over rugby match

10:50am Wednesday 13th February 2008

Comments (4)   Have your say »

A dispute between First XVs of Marlborough and Wellington colleges has led to a ban on rugby games between the two schools.

As reported in The Daily Telegraph today, two of England's best known public schools, who have been competing since 1870, have fallen out over a row between the opposing headmasters.

At issue is what Marlborough headmaster Nicholas Sampson calls a 'violent incident' committed by a Wellington player at a match last October.

But Master of Wellington College, Dr Anthony Seldon, says the Marlborough teams are no longer up to scratch, due to it's new status as co-educational.

During a match last year an unnamed Wellington player is alleged to have bitten his opposing number during a scrum, an incident reported in detail in the referee's report.

Wellington won the match 24-8, and both schools agreed to keep the incident quiet.

Dr Seldon then disclosed to The Daily Telegraph that rugby games were to be stopped between the schools because Marlborough could no longer effectively compete with Wellington, and hinted at the fact that it may have to do with the presence of more females at Marlborough college.

In response the Marlborough head brought to light the details surrounding the match last October.

They drew attention to the referee's report, in which he reported seeing, "a mark on the right hand side of the player's face very close to his ear."

It continued: "The mark appeared to be a bite, with skin depressed in a pattern consistent with, and in the shape of a bite mark, using both upper and lower jaws. It was obvious what had happened in the scrum."

Contradicting Dr Seldon's suggestion, Mr. Sampson said: "It was not Wellington's decision. It was a mutual decision. I was at the game and the decision was as a result of a violent incident which was committed by one of the Wellington side."

Mr Sampson claimed that the picture Dr Seldon, who is Tony Blair's biographer, had painted for discontinuing matches was "neither complete nor accurate."