Females lead way in rugby

WELLINGTON: Female participation is the only significant growth area in New Zealand Rugby.

There was a 14.6% increase in female playing numbers with a further 3500 players lacing up their boots this year, taking the total number of registered players to 27,838.

There was a 2.6% increase in Small Blacks, those aged between 5 and 12 years.

However there was a significant drop of 4.8% for teenage boys aged 13 to 20.

There are 157,218 total registered players, up 1%.

New Zealand Rugby head of women’s rugby development Cate Sexton said the continuing growth represented an exciting opportunity for the game.

‘‘Following our doubledigit growth last year these figures show there is a real generational shift going on in our game and it’s great to see so many young girls being inspired to give rugby a go.

‘‘The biggest area of growth was in our youngest demographic with a more than 15% increase in Small Blacks, so the future is very bright.

‘‘I have no doubt many of them have been inspired by the success of our Black Ferns and Black Ferns Sevens teams and the example they are setting on and off the field.’’

Sexton said growth in female playing numbers had resulted from increased New Zealand Rugby investment.

‘‘New Zealand Rugby and the provincial unions have put more resources into women’s rugby and that’s paying off. We have seen Molenberg come on board with an historic sponsorship of our Black Ferns and Black Ferns Sevens and the recent television viewership figures for the Laurie O’Reilly test matches highlighted the growing public interest.’’

NZR head of participation Steve Lancaster said overall numbers remained strong, butsome challenges, particularly regarding the numbers of teenaged players, emerged.

‘‘Rugby is our national sport and it’s great to see so much diversity in our game across age, gender and ethnicity and we are seeing some real growth in new noncontact forms of rugby including Rippa rugby and Quick Rip.

‘‘However, there is no doubt the world has changed and young people particularly have a lot of choices.’’

While male player numbers remained strong in the Small Blacks category, there was a 4.8% drop in the 1320 years age bracket, which contributed to an overall drop of 1.8% in male participation.

‘‘We are not alone in facing the challenge of making sure our game appeals to the next generation and that’s why we have conducted a comprehensive review of secondary school rugby.’’

Former All Black Brent Anderson is leading the secondary schools rugby review and is process of finalising its recommendations to NZR.

‘‘It’s great to see noncontact forms of the game like Rippa rugby and Quick Rip continue to grow in popularity. We need to continue to think innovatively and ensure the game reflects the desires of our participants to keep rugby relevant and appealing to teenagers.’’

Lancaster said volunteers were vital to ensuring rugby remained healthy and they sustained more than 5000 matches played every week around New Zealand. — RNZ

❛ New Zealand Rugby

and the provincial unions have put more resources into women’s rugby and that’s paying

off.