Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 I came across an article on the bbc sports page which mentioned the growth of rugby union over the last 25 years. Unbelievably they have gone from 1.5m players in 1995 to 9.6m players today, they have increased the number of people playing the game 6 fold which is quite astonishing. How many rugby league players do we have world wide? Is this increasing or decreasing and at what rate. Are there figures for this anywhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 While that code has grown over the last 25 years, "Figures from World Rugby" implies that all those quoted numbers should be taken with the largest imaginable pinch of salt. As for RL's figures worldwide, I'd be very surprised if they hadn't increased significantly over the same period, obviously starting from a lower point to that of RU. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted August 27, 2020 Author Share Posted August 27, 2020 It’d be interesting to see the numbers broken down by country. You’d expect most of our players to be in Australia, followed by either the UK or PNG, with New Zealand and France behind them. I’d imagine our numbers are fairly small (a few hundred maybe) in all countries other than those 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 RL is primarily a professional sport , it was born out of a necessity to be paid to play RU is a pastime , an excuse to drink beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 I’m not anti-Union particularly but I just don’t believe those numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17 stone giant Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 33 minutes ago, Eddie said: I’m not anti-Union particularly but I just don’t believe those numbers. Which ones, and why? And how much do you think they are incorrect by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 16 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said: Which ones, and why? And how much do you think they are incorrect by? The 6x increase in playing numbers in 25 years. I’d like to know where the new players are, certainly not in this country or Australia, nor NZ, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17 stone giant Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 3 minutes ago, Eddie said: The 6x increase in playing numbers in 25 years. I’d like to know where the new players are, certainly not in this country or Australia, nor NZ, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or France. I dunno. Japan, Italy, USA, Canada? Plus quite a few are female players, so I'd imagine that has increased even in the places you mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 15 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said: I dunno. Japan, Italy, USA, Canada? Plus quite a few are female players, so I'd imagine that has increased even in the places you mentioned. The women’s I can possibly believe but that still leaves a massive increase in the men’s game, just unbelievable. They must be counting everyone who’s ever touched a rugby ball. Or maybe they aren’t counting people from 1995, who were playing but not somehow formally registered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 21 minutes ago, Eddie said: The 6x increase in playing numbers in 25 years. I’d like to know where the new players are, certainly not in this country or Australia, nor NZ, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or France. 15 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said: I dunno. Japan, Italy, USA, Canada? Plus quite a few are female players, so I'd imagine that has increased even in the places you mentioned. I would be virtually certain that those playing numbers include 7s players. And I wouldn`t be surprised if they included Touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 6 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said: I would be virtually certain that those playing numbers include 7s players. And I wouldn`t be surprised if they included Touch. Maybe, but even with that the alleged increase seems ludicrous. I think it’s because the governing bodies now want everyone registers with them, I took my lad down to under 6’s last year (as there isn’t a league club within 100 miles) and they actually said he could only play if we paid for him to register with the RFU. He’s now playing football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number 16 Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 31 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said: And I wouldn`t be surprised if they included Touch. Nail. Head. Hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted August 27, 2020 Author Share Posted August 27, 2020 I’m sure anyone registered and regularly playing 7’s or touch for a club would count, why wouldn’t they? I’d think they’d make up a minority of the numbers though. I don’t know of anywhere I could go to play 7’s or touch. Do you think the World Cup attendance figures doubling are fake too? Does anyone have any figures for Rugby League? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Prince Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 6 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: It’d be interesting to see the numbers broken down by country. You’d expect most of our players to be in Australia, followed by either the UK or PNG, with New Zealand and France behind them. I’d imagine our numbers are fairly small (a few hundred maybe) in all countries other than those 5. My understanding, going back quite a few years, was that professionalism had resulted in UK in player numbers and teams per club gone down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 They got sprung doing the same thing with cricket over here . One journalist did an expose and found some players getting counted 8 times, school, weekends, representative team, T20, etc. 7 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: It’d be interesting to see the numbers broken down by country. You’d expect most of our players to be in Australia, followed by either the UK or PNG, with New Zealand and France behind them. I’d imagine our numbers are fairly small (a few hundred maybe) in all countries other than those 5. etc. The one person counted over and over. I will bet my bottom dollar union have done the same thing , look sideways at a union ball and your in ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 This is rather a frivolous argument between Yawnion and League and is rather ironic because it characterizes the history of the two codes, particularly League, too bloody interested in out scoring each other and very little effort to grow the game. Now my friends I suggest it's too late, sure little gains can be made here and there, a club in Ottawa, one in Belgrade a London team perhaps capable of getting 5000 regulars, wow!. Of course if serious RL gains are made or even look like being made, eating into other sports fanbase , they'll respond with their own initiatives. Looking forward immensely to the WC but realistically the Champions will be champions of a bit of Northern England, SE corner of Australia, bits of New Zealand, Perpignan and some geo- politically insignificant islands in the Pacific. Sorry but that's the truth of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedfordshire Bronco Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 4 hours ago, GUBRATS said: RL is primarily a professional sport , it was born out of a necessity to be paid to play RU is a pastime , an excuse to drink beer Bang on the money I'd say Other than a bit of masters I can't play league and probably couldn't of after 30 odd......Union (which for me really is an excuse to drink) I plan on going until my mid fifties as many do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: I’m sure anyone registered and regularly playing 7’s or touch for a club would count, why wouldn’t they? I’d think they’d make up a minority of the numbers though. I don’t know of anywhere I could go to play 7’s or touch. Do you think the World Cup attendance figures doubling are fake too? Does anyone have any figures for Rugby League? No , because it doesn't matter , NH Union is garbage , if they want to count rugby tots played at 2 years old as Rugby Union , let them , it's nonsense , and it doesn't matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooleboy Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Round here, Pontefract RUFC used to field up to five teams, Castleford likewise and Knottingley at least three. Now they are lucky to put out seven teams between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2010 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 10 hours ago, HawkMan said: This is rather a frivolous argument between Yawnion and League and is rather ironic because it characterizes the history of the two codes, particularly League, too bloody interested in out scoring each other and very little effort to grow the game. Now my friends I suggest it's too late, sure little gains can be made here and there, a club in Ottawa, one in Belgrade a London team perhaps capable of getting 5000 regulars, wow!. Of course if serious RL gains are made or even look like being made, eating into other sports fanbase , they'll respond with their own initiatives. Looking forward immensely to the WC but realistically the Champions will be champions of a bit of Northern England, SE corner of Australia, bits of New Zealand, Perpignan and some geo- politically insignificant islands in the Pacific. Sorry but that's the truth of Yeah but there will be some great games. Despite the small spread if players they'll be some of the best athletes on show in any sport next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrogateKnights Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 In this country though if you look at the professional level, top 3 divisions of each. Super League (normally would) and Premiership have 12 fully professional teams. Championship (named the same in both) are a mixture of full time teams and part time. League 1 and National, although RL has fewer teams they have more promise and once you drop under that level to NCL and national North/South you are at "member owned" clubs with union and NCL being amateur with committees etc. Unions reach might be bigger but personally we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to them, we have our own agenda, our own heritage and fans we should do what is right for Rugby League and not peek at what they are doing, the only comparison is its a same shape ball and you can kick and throw it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 10 hours ago, HawkMan said: This is rather a frivolous argument between Yawnion and League and is rather ironic because it characterizes the history of the two codes, particularly League, too bloody interested in out scoring each other and very little effort to grow the game. Now my friends I suggest it's too late, sure little gains can be made here and there, a club in Ottawa, one in Belgrade a London team perhaps capable of getting 5000 regulars, wow!. Of course if serious RL gains are made or even look like being made, eating into other sports fanbase , they'll respond with their own initiatives. Looking forward immensely to the WC but realistically the Champions will be champions of a bit of Northern England, SE corner of Australia, bits of New Zealand, Perpignan and some geo- politically insignificant islands in the Pacific. Sorry but that's the truth of it. I know who is `frivolous`, the truth according to who, a foolish git, ` geo-politically insignificant ` what sort of self deluding drivel is that. Do you think that makes you sound intelligent ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambass Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 Not that the game is not growing and probably growing fast fast, but WR playing numbers are well known to be BS. Just take the female number. They are about 20.000 registered female players in France, a bit more in England A few thousands here and there (AUS, NZ, Spain, Canada...), then you plunge in the hundreds, and then nothing. We are short of 2.5 million players... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelaide Tiger Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 Well at least it is very magnanimous of RU to admit that the 2019 World Cup audience was down by 1.143 billion compared to the numbers given for previous tournaments. The game is on a serious decline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 19 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: I’m sure anyone registered and regularly playing 7’s or touch for a club would count, why wouldn’t they? I’d think they’d make up a minority of the numbers though. I don’t know of anywhere I could go to play 7’s or touch. Do you think the World Cup attendance figures doubling are fake too? Does anyone have any figures for Rugby League? Just offer a few random "facts", which are facts as far as I know. Happy to be corrected if anyone knows otherwise. Thirty years ago in NZ there were substantially more Touch players than Tackle players (Union and League combined). No reason to think the gap will have done anything other than widen given the growing reluctance to play contact sports since then. No idea whether any feature in RU stats, but the "Rippa Rugby" juniors (NZRU `s version of Tag) are counted by local RU clubs. In Aus, most female RU is 7s. There`s relatively not much 15s. Many players whose main focus is, or has recently become, League, will also play 7s in some setting or other, usually through the sports programme of whichever educational institution they attend. Presumably these are registered with ARU and show up in their numbers. In general the likelihood of non-contact players being counted in RU or RL figures will be largely determined by whether they play under the aegis of an RU or RL club. Which further illustrates the folly of RL allowing first Touch, then Oztag/Tag Football/Tag Rugby, to develop organisational lives of their own away from RL clubs. One indisputable certainty from all this is that World Rugby are more adept at promotion and the art of propaganda than the various showers who run RL around the world. BTW, when the NRL launched their Touch Premiership in a bid to reintegrate the game that was formalised at South Sydney Juniors, they said that a proper PTB, i.e. contact with the foot, would replace the Touch "Rollball". From what I`ve seen this didn`t happen. The RFL are in no position to reclaim Touch back from Union, since they have permitted the Touch "Rollball" to become standard practice in our Tackle RL game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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