Could we even be getting close to the point where there is universal recognition that playing rugby for a First XV is not, in fact, the peak of a young man's existence? That the small matter of getting a rounded education might (gasp) outrank a victory over a local rival?
Auckland rugby no longer sets the standard in the professional ranks but it certainly leads the way in schoolboy drama and intrigue, and what happens on the Auckland First XV scene invariably has ramifications for the rest of the country.
The vaunted 1A competition has been the setting for a Game of Thrones-style series of movements and machinations in recent months following the blow-up of a poaching scandal.
Storied St Kentigern College found itself at the bottom of a ruck when principals of no fewer than 10 rival schools declared they would refuse to play the powerhouse. They pointed to St Kents' ruthless culture of recruitment, and its tendency to cherry-pick the best players from opposing schools.
Happily, the crisis seems to have been averted. A stringent code of conduct was signed last week, new conditions have been implemented, and the warring schools have agreed to behave.
All new-to-school rugby players will be stood down for the first six rounds of this year's competition, and the two "most directly affected players'' (the two best players?) will not be allowed to appear in the playoffs. Further, no First XV will be allowed to overtly recruit a player from another school.
These are smart, relatively easy-to-enforce rules, and it would be nice to think the matter is now closed.
Still, vigilance is essential. First XV rugby, even in the South, has resembled the Wild West at times over the past couple of decades as schools - almost exclusively the large, single-sex boys schools - have aggressively chased success on the rugby field.
Few with even a mild interest in schoolboy rugby have not seen or heard of examples of talented players being poached by bigger institutions, and the recruitment of boys from the Pacific Islands with the sole purpose of winning games remains an eyebrow-raising concept.
The good news is the situation appears relatively clean in the South. There have been few accusations of skulduggery levelled at the bigger rugby schools in recent times, and all schools in the Otago competition sign up to a clear set of regulations aimed at ensuring the playing field is as level as possible.
First XV rugby can be a wonderful thing - a spectacle, laced with tradition and positivity and excitement and opportunities for personal growth.
But it can also be a vessel for schools and parents to lose sight of why the boys - and, increasingly, girls - are at school: to learn, not just score tries.
Obsession with success has too often led to First XV rugby advocates veering off the path. In the wake of the Auckland scandal, it is to be hoped the sport can retain a level of purity to go with the passion.
