Community rugby continues to grow

Community rugby continues to grow

• Record number of women and girls playing the game
• Record the number of heart unions participants
• Participation of 5% UP Adolescent Boys
• Results enhanced in New Zealand Sports Research from the participating research

Another positive year of community rugby saw a six percent increase in the general records, with 155,568 players entering the field this season.

This included a 15% increase in the number of women and girls with 33,757 participants, a record number of players in the game.

Rugby’s heart unions are celebrating a seven percent increase in players, their 28,406 players also registered the most in their combined history.

Meanwhile, Wirarapa Bush saw a 13%increase.

The focus area of ​​teenage boys’ participation has also seen growth, a constant increase since Covid now sees 29,153 participants putting their boots across the country.

NZR general manager Rugby Community, Steve Lancaster, said continuous growth in community game can be attributed to the excellent work that provincial unions are doing across the country.

“Rugby continues to recover postcovid and I would like to recognize the provincial unions for their work to deliver rugby to their communities.

“Certainly it didn’t happen overnight, but we are seeing the results of the opportunities centered on the participant that meet the needs of our communities.

“These numbers also show an increase in diversity in our game, between ages, gender and ethnicity, which further states our efforts to ensure that Rugby is a game for everyone,” Lancaster said.

With more women and girls playing Rugby than ever, Lancaster highlighted the success of the activating programs of girls who have been run over across the country in the last three years.

“With the support of Sport NZ, we have 30 roles in provincial unions that are specifically directed to increase the participation of young girls in our game. Unions have the freedom to adapt these roles and programs to meet the needs of their communities and the results speak for themselves.”

Off Field, the number of registered coaches grew 10%to 10,154, while there was a decrease of three percent in active referees.

“We know that referees are a vital part of our game and, with growing participation, we need to see more people taking the whistle, so it is an area in which we actively invest,” said Lancaster.

Participants are also taking advantage of their time in the game, with the recent results of the Sport NZ Voice of Participas survey, providing positive feedback, with some of the highest scores since 2019.

In the club’s rugby, the general satisfaction score increased by three percent and 76% and 10% screening above the sports value of 2021-23.

The liquid promoter score, which analyzes the likelihood of one of the participants to recommend the sport to others, increased by 6 points and is 20 points above the average of sports. While the value score for money has grown to 87%, 13% above all sports.

Registration Statistics
– 155,568 players, an increase of 6% by 2023
– 10,154 coaches, an increase of 10% by 2023
– 1,522 referees 3% below 2023
– 33,757 players of registered women and girls, an increase of 4,300 (15%)
– 4,200 more junior players in 2024
– 2,400 more teenagers in 2024
– 1,500 senior players in 2024