But Auckland Grammar will suffer the greater short-term loss as the Auckland Rugby Union disciplinary committee today suspended four of its players, who will miss Saturday's final against Mt Albert Grammar.
But the penalties they received -- six weeks suspension at the most -- pale in comparison to the 10- to 16-month suspensions received by the five Kelston Boys High players.
The action, announced early today, follows the brawl at the end of the semifinal, won 20-9 by Auckland Grammar, a game that erupted into an all-in scrap.
Kelston principal Steve Watt said his players received a fair hearing but he was stunned by the penalties.
"I accept that in some of the cases, violence was excessive and deserved a harsh punishment," he told media following a seven-hour hearing at Eden Park last night.
"I must admit though, I still struggle with the differential in the punishments that have been handed down."
Mr Watt, who said the incident was embarrassing and brought shame on the team and the school, said any appeals would be left up to the individuals concerned.
"I was really proud of them the way they handled themselves tonight. We told them to tell the truth and they did. In terms of their resilience I have got no doubt that they've got the character to bounce back.
"They are clearly very upset now and understandably so."
Committee chairwoman Sarah-Jane Neville said the penalties were decided on a player-by-player, incident-by-incident basis only.
Ms Neville said the higher penalties on the Kelston players were due to their throwing punches, which was dealt with more harshly than pushing or similar misconduct.
She said it was irrelevant which side started the fight as retaliation was treated in the same manner.
Auckland Grammar principal John Morris, who had refrained from passing judgment on his players until he had seen video footage of the incident, said after the hearing that the incident was also embarrassing for his school.
"I felt that our boys in general handled themselves pretty well," he said.
"There were some ... that didn't handle it very well and they suffer the consequences."
Auckland Rugby Union chief executive Andy Dalton said it had been a struggle dealing with the incident, which had impacted on both schools and the image of rugby.
"We do have to send a message we're not going to put up with that."
Up to 100 spectators along with players were caught up in the fight, which lasted five minutes.
Players from both teams reportedly cried following the announcement of the penalties last night.
Kelston Boys High had already suspended seven players, five from the first XV and two from the second XV, from school following the brawl.
Mr Morris said the incident had interfered with his team's preparation for the Grammar-Mt Albert final.
The suspensions had hit the team's backline in particular -- three of the four suspended were backs.
