Rugby participation at an all-time high

The number of people playing Rugby Union has reached an all-time high with more than 176,000 people now playing the game around Australia, an increase of 10,000 over the last 12 months.

The Australian Rugby Union released their official participation figures today, revealing an increase of nearly seven per cent in 2005, following on from a record ten per cent growth in 2004 after the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Australia's Rugby-playing population has now almost doubled in the ten years since Rugby went professional in 1996.

Queensland can lay claim to half the national growth from last year, having welcomed an extra 5,000 players to their ranks, which has pushed their total player numbers to just under 50,000. It is the second year in a row that the QRU has enjoyed a growth rate of more than 11%.

One of the most encouraging results for Australian Rugby came out of the two states that bid for the right to host the new Super 14 team - both Victoria and Western Australia recorded a 23% increase in player numbers for the year.

ACT grew by more than 5,400 players, part of which can be attributed to the fact the NSW Far South Coast and Southern Inland Rugby Unions changed their affiliation from the NSW Rugby Union to the ACT Rugby Union.

As a result, NSW posted a net decline of 2.4% in players, but would have experienced a healthy increased if Southern NSW had remained under its jurisdiction.

"While the success of the Rugby World Cup would still have some residual effect, it is the hard work of the State Unions and the individual clubs that has generated this strong growth," ARU CEO and Managing Director Gary Flowers said.

"The thousands of volunteers around Australia who work tirelessly on Rugby committees can take a bow.

"Credit must also go to our EdRugby program and the state development officers who are running Walla Challenges and junior Rugby tournaments in schools around Australia.

"Registration for junior and senior Rugby is currently in full swing and we are looking forward to another strong season."

THE GROWTH OF RUGBY UNION

Participation

• National participation grew by 10 per cent in 2004 and another 6.9 per cent in 2005.
• There are now 176,655 people playing Rugby in Australia, up 10,000 on the previous year
• Player numbers have almost doubled in the last ten years (up from 89,760 in 1996).

Crowds

• Average Super 12/14 crowds:
• 1996 - 15,700
• 2005 - 25,900 (65% increase over 10 years)
• 2006 - 27,800 (7% on last year)
• The cumulative Super 12 crowds hit an all-time high last year, with more than 440,000 people attending matches in Australia.
• With 10 extra Super 14 matches in Australia this year, the figure will exceed the 600,000 mark, and potentially push the 700,000 mark.

TV Ratings

• Last year, TV ratings for Super 12 Rugby increased by 25%.
• The Super 12 Final between the Crusaders and the Waratahs averaged 288,000, a record for a Rugby match on subscription television.
• Across the first three rounds this year, the Super 14 has reached 1.3 million viewers on Fox Sports.

Test matches

• Our cumulative Test crowds were the second highest on record last year - only the 2001 Lions season generated a bigger cumulative crowd.
• We have the biggest Test season ever coming up this year - two Tests against England, one against Ireland, followed by the expanded Tri Nations.

Sponsorship

• The ARU's annual sponsorship income now exceeds $20 million.
• Bundaberg Rum recently signed on for another five years and Vodafone joined us this year for three years.