Of 155,568 total registered players, 33,757 participants are women and girls - a 15% increase from last year.
For the Waikato, the number of female players is even higher: there has been an increase of 25.5% overall and a 32% increase in female secondary school rugby participation.
Overall, Heartland Rugby unions are celebrating a 7% increase in players, and teenage boys’ participation has also seen growth with 29,153 players lacing up their boots across the country.
“It certainly hasn’t happened overnight, but we are seeing the results of participant-centred opportunities that are meeting the needs of our communities.
“These numbers also show an increase in diversity in our game, across ages, gender and ethnicity, which further affirms our efforts to ensure that rugby is a game for everyone.”
With more women and girls playing rugby than ever before, Lancaster highlighted the success of the national Girls Activator programmes over the past three years.
“With the support of Sport NZ, we have 30 roles across the provincial unions that are specifically targeted to increasing the participation of young girls in our game,” he said.
“The unions have the freedom to tailor these roles and programmes to suit the needs of their communities and the outcomes speak for themselves.”
New Zealand Rugby general manager community rugby Steve Lancaster said community rugby had become more diverse. Photo / Photosport
Off-field the number of registered coaches grew 10% to 10,154 while there was a 3% decrease in active referees.
“We know referees are a vital part of our game and with rising participation we need to see more people picking up the whistle, so it’s an area we’ll actively invest in,” Lancaster said.
Participants are also enjoying their time in the game, with the recent results from the Sport NZ Voice of Participants Survey providing positive feedback, with some of the highest scores since 2019.
Within club rugby, the overall satisfaction score was up 3% to 76% and tracks 10% above the 2021-23 All Sports figure.
The Net Promoter Score, which looks at a participant’s likelihood to recommend the sport to others, increased by six points and sits 20 points above the All Sports average.
The Value for Money score grew to 87%, 13% above All Sports.
Waikato rugby community
1892 total female players – 25.5% increase from 2023
10,145 total players – 0.8% increase
125 referees – 16.8% increase
2908 senior club players: 487 female - 12% increase; 2421 male
1966 secondary school players: 321 female - 32% increase; 1645 male
