The advent of live 1st XV coverage hasn't so much changed the nature of the 1A competition as fast-tracked it down a path it was already on.
The regular presence of Sky's TV cameras has added to the hype - boosted the prestige of the competition and helped strengthen the perception that schoolboy rugby in Auckland is professional in every way bar the direct payment of the players.
That much was inevitable when Sky decided to begin regular live 1st XV coverage in 2009. Former cricket legend Martin Crowe was Sky's driver into the unprecedented territory of regular live schoolboy broadcasts and it was his ethos that if it was worth doing, it was worth doing properly.
"That's why we dress our presenters/commentators in suits and we don't want the whole thing looking like a joke," says Sky's director of 1st XV rugby, Andrew Hawthorn.
"Everything we do in our schools coverage is at a similar level to our ITM Cup coverage in terms of the presentation and the number of cameras we have. It's our feedback and impression that the schools want this."
Certainly the boys want it. They now have the opportunity to play not only in front of their friends, family and peers - but a nationwide audience as well. Seeing regular promotions for 1st XV on Sky amid Super 15 and All Black coverage inevitably heightens interest and the sense of occasion when games are televised.
"Of course, you have to talk to the boys about it. It's not like it's nothing," says Mt Albert Grammar 1st XV skipper Josh Goodhue. "There's going to be a bigger crowd than usual, and the cameras. It's going to play a part, but it's about how you deal with it. We talk individually about it without the coaches, just looking at what we expect from each other and no one trying to show off."
And for those boys who want to try to forge a professional career, they now have increased opportunity to be spotted.
Those boys who play well in a televised game can suddenly come on to the radar of a range of talent scouts. Even All Black coach Steve Hansen says he watches the occasional schoolboy game on TV just to keep a loose handle on who is on the scene.
Coaches, player agents and parents all say that the boys are aware of what playing well on TV can mean - aware now that if the cameras are there, a big performance can be potentially life-changing.
It's not uncommon for some boys to be contacted by player agents, NRL scouts and high performance managers at provincial unions immediately after they have starred on TV. The battle for talent is fierce and those in the business of recruitment know that delay can be disastrous.
This progression towards pseudo-professional rugby in the 1A competition was arguably well under way before Sky committed to live broadcasts. Their involvement is seen more as an inevitable conclusion rather than as the catalyst.
The original decision to get involved carried a significant element of commercial risk. The potential audience was unknown yet there was obviously some confidence that the venture would be well supported.
Old boy networks are famously strong - particularly in Auckland - and Sky, without saying as much, obviously gambled that it could make 1st XV rugby work financially because of the ties many former pupils feel to their respective alma maters.
Sky won't detail subscription or viewership figures but director of sport Richard Last says: "I'm really happy with the way college rugby has been covered on Sky and it is really encouraging and pleasing to see increased interest in these great matches ... College rugby has been a great success for the Rugby Channel and Sky."
Yet while the venture has been a success commercially, Sky's interest in schoolboy rugby is not about endorsing the culture of winning at all costs.
Some of the historic schoolboy rivalries are integral components of New Zealand rugby, and probably wider, social culture. The likes of the King's College versus Auckland Grammar game; the Polson banner game between Palmerston North Boys' High and Napier Boys' High; Southland Boys' v Otago Boys'; Christchurch Boys' v St Bede's College - these games are high impact in their local communities. They provide lifelong memories for those lucky enough to play in them, and that, says Hawthorn, is the real attraction of covering 1st XV.
"The thing about schoolboy rugby is that everyone who has ever played it will probably remember one magic moment when they ran through the defence or whatever. For about 90 per cent of players - if not more - they won't go on to do anything else in rugby."
