Rugby numbers on the rise

Jul 9 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

SCOTTISH Rugby has surpassed its strategic target to grow its playing base by over 50 per cent, two years ahead of schedule.

And officials are pointing to the steady recovery of extra-curricular state school rugby as key to the sport's consistently increasing popularity.

The number of schools regularly playing the game has risen from 184 in 2008 to over 240 in 2010, thanks in part to a successful state school specific programme ran in partnership with the Scottish Widows Bank which rewards and supports school staff who give up their time to take extra-curricular rugby.

The uptake in state schools, particularly S1-S3, is crucial to the rise in the number of people playing the game at all levels where there are now 25,000 under 18 players playing rugby compared to 15,000 just four years ago.

Scottish Rugby head of community rugby, Colin Thomson, said: “We have channelled a lot of energy into developing state school rugby and through our regional network supported by sportscotland, have delivered over 19,000 rugby sessions to over 180,000 primary and secondary school children in the last year alone.