Call goes out to halt slide in number of boys playing rugby at secondary school

GROWING THE SPORT: Gisborne Girls’ High School and Lytton High School met in last year’s Ngati Porou East Coast under-18 girls’ rugby final. Player numbers have been dropping for boys, but girls’ rugby is a different story. Picture by Liam Clayton

A slide in the number of boys playing rugby at secondary school should be curbed by making the game enjoyable and creating better relationships between schools and rugby unions, says Poverty Bay union chief executive Josh Willoughby.

Players need meaningful competitions and the union has to get into schools to understand their programmes and help out, he says.

Meantime, the girls’ game has exploded in popularity, creating its own challenges, such as resourcing it well enough.

Willoughby was part of a reference group for a review of New Zealand secondary schools’ rugby.

The report, released this month, drew attention to an “alarming” drop-off in boy player numbers in Auckland and nationally. It also comments on angst over player recruitment and striking the right balance between high performance and participation.

Willoughby said the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union challenged New Zealand Rugby to be bold, particularly about making sure girls’ rugby was embraced.

Locally, Lytton and Gisborne Girls’ High have strong sides.

“Girls’ rugby is a real shining light for us,” Willoughby said.

“The challenge for us is offering a rugby product after they leave school.”

Gisborne Boys’ High School’s strength was unique among Heartland unions, he said.

However, fewer boys were playing rugby in Poverty Bay.

Alternative formats such as 10s could help keep people in the sport, as well as emphasise skills development.

“Players, ultimately, want to develop,” Willoughby said.

“A lot comes down to quality coaches.”

Poverty Bay Heartland coach and former Gisborne Boys’ High School first 15 coach Tom Cairns said players wanted to compete in meaningful competitions.

He wasn’t surprised by the backlash against schools such as Saint Kentigern in Auckland over player poaching, because that harmed competitions.

The Saint Kentigern boycott row came after New Zealand Rugby’s report was prepared but disquiet was still voiced about a few schools’ high-performance programmes producing “questionable outcomes”.

“We need a wide circle of schools being able to compete at any level,” Cairns said.

Most sports had declining rates of participation, he said.

Students had many recreation options and a lot spent “scary” amounts of time looking at screens, instead of getting outdoors.

Some wanted instant gratification but rugby involved perseverance.

Cairns was also wary of teenagers specialising too early.

“Kids should be involved in a range of sports,” he said.

New Gisborne Boys’ High School first 15 coach Mark Jefferson said winning was important but so was creating “good young men”.

“Your main goal is to be able to produce a well-rounded, good citizen.”

Honesty, respect, teamwork and courage could be taught through rugby.

“It takes courage to front up five times a week for training and that’s the norm now for first-15 training sessions.”

That includes gym sessions.

The review recommends a governance shake-up of schools rugby, with New Zealand Rugby taking on a bigger role.

A secondary schools’ rugby manager would be employed, which Jefferson said was “great to see”.

Lytton High School’s teacher in charge of rugby, Tania Bartlett, said creating the right environment was key.

Lytton has a rugby academy for girls.

Bartlett said boys at the school had seen the girls train, were impressed by their skill level and wanted something similar for themselves.

A rugby culture was created for the girls and they loved it, Bartlett said. Players received exposure in tournaments and that led to higher honours.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew told Stuff he would act on the review.

“We’ve got a generation of kids who, if they’re not identified early as first-15 players and go on into our high-performance systems, leave the game early,” he said.

“I wasn’t happy about playing in the second 15, but I did stay and play . . . we’ve got to get back to that approach in schools.”

Willoughby said smaller players competing with bigger players was “talked about everywhere”, as well as variation in skill level. Player safety and better relationships between schools, provincial unions and New Zealand Rugby were important.

“If we’re doing that, it will mean a more enjoyable game and a more enjoyable game will get more participation.”