Club rugby: RWC sparks club boom

Club rugby continues to thrive in Northland this year, with more people keen to get involved, spurred on by the hype of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Northland Rugby Union operations manager Greg Shipton said the number of administrators and volunteers had doubled this year, with 599 people registered to be part of the club scene.

"I think a lot of the volunteers from the Rugby World Cup have decided they will stay on and help out with club rugby. We're still collating our numbers at this stage, but we will also see a 5 per cent rise in junior rugby players," Mr Shipton said.

After a Rugby World Cup, numbers participating increased by about 20 per cent in any given region and Northland already had more kids playing per capita than anywhere else in the country, he said.

"If you look at the figures in France, they had about a 40 per cent increase in kids wanting to play rugby [after the RWC], but they didn't have the facilities to cater for that growth, so lost a lot of interest pretty soon."

Last year 5338 young players registered for club rugby in Northland, and this year it is set to reach close to 5800. As well, the number of senior players has risen from 1934 last year to 2009 this year.

Northland had the facilities to enable growth but Mr Shipton said it was as much about the organisers and coaches to keep kids and families involved.

The Kamo Rugby Club's Gordon Ball has been part of the club for 20 years, and said the key to keeping kids on the field was organisation.

"People are just so busy these days ... so you've just got to be organised, and stay on top of things.

"Kamo already has a great network of support, with families involved that have a long history with the club, they're the ones that keep the ball rolling," Mr Ball said.

While Kensington Park was the base for Saturday junior rugby, Mr Shipton said it was at maximum capacity with games there, so under-14s, 15s and 16s had to play out at the clubs.

With so many competing demands for Kensington Park, the Whangarei District Council has decided to review the park's management plan.