Playing numbers per country

[langpark]

Participation figures.  It's a topic that has always fascinated me, but there is very little reliable date out there.  I want to have a go at ranking the top 20 in the world, based on what I know / believe to be true.  Please offer any insight that you may have:

1.  Australia - probably the only one that I can say with 100% confidence.

2. PNG - there will never be accurate data.  But I believe given their population (8.6 million) and league fanaticism, that they would have to be above both NZ and England.

3. England

4. New Zealand - I believe their love for union will have hurt league's overall number.

5. France (there is a big drop off after the top 5)

6. Fiji

7. Tonga

8. Wales

9. Serbia

10. Ukraine

11. USA

12. Turkey

13. Greece

14. Jamaica

15. Norway

16. Czech Republic

17. Cook Islands

18. Canada

19. Ireland

20. Netherlands

Notable absences:  Italy, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Lebanon - all have had very minimal activity over the last 2 years.

6-20 was very hard to rank.  Even from the countries where I have a sound knowledge.  For example:  One country might have 8 teams, but play for 2 months.  The other might have 5 teams but play matches all year round.  Very hard to compare some.

 

 

[DoubleD]

2 hours ago, langpark said:

Participation figures.  It's a topic that has always fascinated me, but there is very little reliable date out there.  I want to have a go at ranking the top 20 in the world, based on what I know / believe to be true.  Please offer any insight that you may have:

1.  Australia - probably the only one that I can say with 100% confidence.

2. PNG - there will never be accurate data.  But I believe given their population (8.6 million) and league fanaticism, that they would have to be above both NZ and England.

3. England

4. New Zealand - I believe their love for union will have hurt league's overall number.

5. France (there is a big drop off after the top 5)

6. Fiji

7. Tonga

8. Wales

9. Serbia

10. Ukraine

11. USA

12. Turkey

13. Greece

14. Jamaica

15. Norway

16. Czech Republic

17. Cook Islands

18. Canada

19. Ireland

20. Netherlands

Notable absences:  Italy, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Lebanon - all have had very minimal activity over the last 2 years.

6-20 was very hard to rank.  Even from the countries where I have a sound knowledge.  For example:  One country might have 8 teams, but play for 2 months.  The other might have 5 teams but play matches all year round.  Very hard to compare some.

 

 

Jamaica should be higher should they not?

Also, Brazil should be in the top 20

In 2019 the sport continues to grow in Brazil. This year the national championship will have 8 men’s and 4 women’s teams. They have already exceeded the number of teams registered in Brazil 9s played in Rio. In addition to the Women's competition with more than 60 participating Brazil now has the largest rugby league grassroots in Latin America.

https://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/brazil/rugby-league-in-brazil-making-a-splash-in-2019

[unapologetic pedant]

2 hours ago, langpark said:

Participation figures.  It's a topic that has always fascinated me, but there is very little reliable date out there.  I want to have a go at ranking the top 20 in the world, based on what I know / believe to be true.  Please offer any insight that you may have:

1.  Australia - probably the only one that I can say with 100% confidence.

2. PNG - there will never be accurate data.  But I believe given their population (8.6 million) and league fanaticism, that they would have to be above both NZ and England.

3. England

4. New Zealand - I believe their love for union will have hurt league's overall number.

5. France (there is a big drop off after the top 5)

6. Fiji

7. Tonga

8. Wales

9. Serbia

10. Ukraine

11. USA

12. Turkey

13. Greece

14. Jamaica

15. Norway

16. Czech Republic

17. Cook Islands

18. Canada

19. Ireland

20. Netherlands

Notable absences:  Italy, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Lebanon - all have had very minimal activity over the last 2 years.

6-20 was very hard to rank.  Even from the countries where I have a sound knowledge.  For example:  One country might have 8 teams, but play for 2 months.  The other might have 5 teams but play matches all year round.  Very hard to compare some.

 

 

A pet theme of mine is the failure of RL to embrace Tag RL as a potential mass participation sport and by integrating it into our Leagues and clubs hugely boost our participation rates. In NZ some Union clubs offer a non-contact version of RU called "Rippa Rugby", whose players, I`ve heard, are included in their participation numbers, whereas the far more popular Tag RL has developed a life of its own, away from our leagues and clubs calling itself "Tag Rugby", "Tag Football", "Oztag", even though the game is unmistakeably a non-contact version of RL. If ideas like the PTB, Dummy-Half, Marker, 6-play limited possession were patented, Rugby League could sue organisations like Oztag, NZTFI, Tag Rugby Ireland, etc for intellectual property theft.

There`s a post on the Waikato RL Facebook page of someone describing how 20 years ago he had 350 children playing Tag RL. He contacted NZRL for assistance and received the reply "This has no relevance for our game". Now the Auckland RL in particular are frantically playing catch-up. With any luck the RFL will start playing catch-up in another 20 years. Our participation figures should include everyone playing all forms of RL.

[unapologetic pedant]

42 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Jamaica should be higher should they not?

Also, Brazil should be in the top 20

In 2019 the sport continues to grow in Brazil. This year the national championship will have 8 men’s and 4 women’s teams. They have already exceeded the number of teams registered in Brazil 9s played in Rio. In addition to the Women's competition with more than 60 participating Brazil now has the largest rugby league grassroots in Latin America.

https://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/brazil/rugby-league-in-brazil-making-a-splash-in-2019

Brazil were a good choice for inclusion in the women`s WC. USA Soccer proved that progress in the women`s game does not have to replicate that in the men`s game. It will be asking a lot though for them to be competitive, unless they receive significant help, virus permitting. Mercifully their draw avoided the Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns.

[langpark]

1 hour ago, DoubleD said:

Jamaica should be higher should they not?

Also, Brazil should be in the top 20

In 2019 the sport continues to grow in Brazil. This year the national championship will have 8 men’s and 4 women’s teams. They have already exceeded the number of teams registered in Brazil 9s played in Rio. In addition to the Women's competition with more than 60 participating Brazil now has the largest rugby league grassroots in Latin America.

https://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/brazil/rugby-league-in-brazil-making-a-splash-in-2019

Like I say, there are certain nations I don't know much about and Jamaica is one of them, so I am happy to be corrected.  I will say though, in trying to research it, their official website seems to have vanished, leaving only their social media channels.  In general all I ever see from Jamaica are those occasional college tournaments (not saying that is their only activity, but it's the only stuff I come across).

I was also shocked by USA and Canada, who both have good looking websites, but you have to go back a long way to find any actual matches.  So I think maybe based on what I found, maybe I was still a bit too generous with USA.

Thanks for the link on Brazil.  They did cross my mind, but I have to say, this article has not done a whole lot to convince me.  It said in early 2019 that they WILL have 8 men's and 4 women's teams.  Do we know if it happened?  And if so, what the situation is now in 2020?  Again, I am not saying it didn't happen, I would really like to know.  But I made a point of basing this all on what countries have actually done, rather than what they intend to do.

 

[DoubleD]

38 minutes ago, langpark said:

Like I say, there are certain nations I don't know much about and Jamaica is one of them, so I am happy to be corrected.  I will say though, in trying to research it, their official website seems to have vanished, leaving only their social media channels.  In general all I ever see from Jamaica are those occasional college tournaments (not saying that is their only activity, but it's the only stuff I come across).

I was also shocked by USA and Canada, who both have good looking websites, but you have to go back a long way to find any actual matches.  So I think maybe based on what I found, maybe I was still a bit too generous with USA.

Thanks for the link on Brazil.  They did cross my mind, but I have to say, this article has not done a whole lot to convince me.  It said in early 2019 that they WILL have 8 men's and 4 women's teams.  Do we know if it happened?  And if so, what the situation is now in 2020?  Again, I am not saying it didn't happen, I would really like to know.  But I made a point of basing this all on what countries have actually done, rather than what they intend to do.

 

Difficult to get accurate numbers but your best source is the IRL's annual report which has further detail on this sort of thing.

Rugby League Planet also has good info

[langpark]

26 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Difficult to get accurate numbers but your best source is the IRL's annual report which has further detail on this sort of thing.

Rugby League Planet also has good info

Like I say, forget accurate numbers, we'll never get that.  I just had a look at BRL's facebook and I have to say, there does look to be a decent amount of activity going on there, which is really pleasing.  A lot seems to be concentrate around Nov-Dec 2019, which perhaps suggests it's mostly union players at the end of union season, playing a few matches, but still.  If that's where they need to start, then so be it.

Given what I have now seen, I would say they probably belong somewhere around #15 on that list.