Queensland the leading state for Rugby participation in 2015 following ARU National Census

Queensland has more Rugby participants than any other Australian state for the third consecutive year, following today’s release of the Australian Rugby Union’s annual census figures for 2015.

A total of 293,325 Queenslanders participated in Rugby in 2015 with growth in key programs including St.George Rookies2Reds (7,085 participants), Game On (7,275 participants in the programs’ first year), Try Sevens (42,902 participants) and Q7s Schools Competitions (382 male teams and 141 female teams).

Rob Donaghue, Queensland Rugby’s General Manger – Operations said: “It’s pleasing that Queensland Rugby’s participation strategies have resulted in Queensland being the leading state for participation for the third consecutive year – something that hadn’t been achieved in 130 years prior to 2013.

“We’ve seen significant growth in Rugby Sevens with 149 new Sevens teams springing up in our state over the past twelve months alone.

“In particular, girls and young women are joining sevens programs across Queensland in big numbers. They are telling us they want to join their brothers in learning to play Rugby with Sevens now part of the 2016 Rio Olympic program and also part of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games program.

“We are also finding that lots of talented female athletes from sports such as rugby league and netball are switching to Rugby because they can see that there is a pathway to Olympic success, which is not possible in those other sports. Over 50% of the Australian women’s sevens squad, who are currently ranked number one in the world ahead of Rio, are drawn from Queensland’s pathway.”

Today’s announcement confirms the consolidation of growth in participation numbers in Queensland that has been underway since 2007, when just 62,967 participants picked up a Rugby ball.

Nationally, more people had a Rugby participation experience in 2015 than ever before, according to the ARU’s report. Across the country, there were 706,345 Rugby experiences, reflecting an increase of 2.7%.
Female participation in Sevens increased by 33.4% to 4,012, while 1,594 women played in the traditional fifteen-a-side format. Half of Game On and VIVA7s participants were female, providing a crucial opportunity for girls and women to experience Rugby in a non-contact format, so they can develop an interest in the game.

438,882 Australians enjoyed participation experiences such as National Rugby Week in schools, gala days and ‘come and try’ events. These ‘promotional experiences’ are important in expanding Rugby’s footprint – especially to public schools and females – which will be critical for future growth of the sport.

26,469 students participated in Rugby’s five-week primary schools program (‘Game On’) and this number is expected to grow in 2016 as the ARU taps into the ASC’s network of 5,700 ‘Sporting Schools’.

126,571 Australian school kids played Rugby during National Rugby Week, which involved 8% of all Australian schools.