Rugby registration numbers have been a hot topic among rugby tragics.

That was highlighted by Brett McKay’s popular article slamming Roy Morgan’s ‘fake news’ earlier this year which generated almost 200 comments.

The good news is that the number of people lacing up their boots – in New South Wales at least – is trending up.

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The regional part of the state is putting the grass back in grassroots, seeing a handy 4% growth for boys aged between 4 and 18.

The city-slickers did their part with senior 15s participation spiking 5% in the metro region.

It’s a positive sign following a cracking season of Shute Shield rugby with the Grand Final once again drawing a bumper crowd at North Sydney Oval.

The success of the Aussie Women’s Sevens in Rio continued to aid in growing the short-form game with the Sydney Junior Rugby Unions Girls’ Sevens team numbers up from 17 in 2016 to 48 in 2017.

7,896 players have been in action this year in Club Sevens tournaments, a further 11,317 youngsters had a run in schools sevens events.

Overall, there were 37,987 registered NSW club rugby players in 2017 compared to 37,379 in 2016.



That may not seem like a huge spike, but put that overall figure in context with Roy Morgan’s supposed estimate of 55,000 registered players Australia-wide and it paints a far rosier picture.

However, it wasn’t all good news for rugby fans in New South Wales.

There was a worrying 5% drop in the number of registered 15s women’s players in the metro region, alongside a 3% drop in junior participants.

Women’s participation is a key growth area that Rugby Australia outlined in their 2016-2020 strategic plan.

In the bush, there was a 2% drop in the number of registered senior players.

Here are the statistics:

Metro Junior Competition 2017 Players Growth / Decline Sydney Juniors 11382 -3%

*Note that this decline was anticipated due to the change in the reporting system / Team numbers were higher in 2017 than 2016.



Country Junior Competition 2017 Players Growth / Decline Central Coast Juniors 1154 -3% Central North Juniors 955 -17% Far North Coast Juniors 1069 21% Illawarra Juniors 1177 4% Mid North Coast Juniors 707 -3% New England Juniors 156 56% Newcastle Hunter Juniors 1780 6% Western Plains Juniors 98 92% Central West Juniors 1703 12%

Metro Senior Competitions 2017 Players Growth / Decline Premiership & Subbies 8713 5% Sydney Women’s 258 -5%

Country Senior Competitions 2017 Players Growth / Decline Country Women’s 216 3% Central Coast Seniors 989 -10% Central North Seniors 765 9% Far North Coast Seniors 831 7% Illawarra Seniors 1066 4% Mid North Coast Seniors 886 16% New England Seniors 415 -21% Newcastle Seniors 1655 -9% Western Plains Seniors 375 -2% Central West Seniors 1606 -6%

Statement from NSW Rugby General Manager of Development, Andrew Hill:

“It is important for us to grow our established club and school competitions while at the same time, attracting new players through our programmes and other formats of the game. Ultimately we have to retain and grow our current competitions, while expanding into non-traditional areas and schools.” “It is no secret that rugby has had a tough year across the country at the professional end of the game. At the community level, people are still loving rugby and there are a number of vibrant, growing clubs and schools. This is mainly due to the incredible work of the volunteers in the Clubs and schools, as well the support from the NSW Rugby Development Officers across the State.” “NSW Rugby contributed $2.06M direct to community rugby this year, $1.16M of which came from the NSW Waratahs and this amount is over and above the contribution of Rugby Australia. Community rugby is at heart of what we do and we are committed to growing the game,” Hill said. In reference to the decline in participation in certain key areas, Hill said: “If we are going to grow the game in all areas, we need to follow the lead of some of our successful clubs and competitions, who are providing opportunities for men and women, girls and boys and juniors and seniors. If we provide these opportunities, the next challenge for us is to retain not only our players but also our coaches, managers, volunteers, administrators and all the people who make rugby great,” Hill said.

So Roarers, what do you think about these results?