Ahead of the Fiji v England International at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool this Saturday, BBC Radio Merseyside will be interviewing Gill Burns MBE, on Thursday evening at 6.45pm, to talk about the growth of Rugby in the North West and the success of introducing young people to the game. Tune in to 95.8 FM or online via BBC Sounds tomorrow evening to hear more about the activities in our community clubs and some of the inventive initiatives used by the local RFU Schools Rugby Manager to engage with children and schools in Merseyside last season.
- We are passionate about growing the game in our region and are trying new, enjoyable ways to introduce young people to rugby, get a ball into their hands and encourage them to join their local club.
- Although it is true there is a decline in the numbers of men playing competitively on a Saturday afternoon, there are now more boys, girls and women playing rugby, and more people playing non-contact variations of the game than ever before - the membership of our clubs reflect this diverse rugby community.
- Last season almost 25,000 people were registered as players at one of the 105 rugby union community clubs in the North West (16,000 age grade players and almost 9,000 Adult players - 7169 men, 1706 women) representing almost a 5% increase on the previous season.
- Approx 25,000 boys and girls were introduced to rugby union through activities in North West Schools, Guides and Scouts.
- In Merseyside, almost 5,000 active players were registered at clubs last year, including 3,153 age grade club players (6% increase) with the biggest participation increase seen among girls (13% increase). Local RFU Schools Rugby Manager, Alison Watt, has used non-contact T1 rugby to introduce the game to primary and secondary schools in Sefton. She has also held girls’ glow events (with UV lights, glow in the dark bibs and UV coated rugby balls) and there was a rugby event held on West Kirby beach for year 5-6 boys and girls.
- Lancashire has five RFU School Rugby Managers to support rugby development in non-rugby playing schools, in areas identified with potential for growth, in City of Liverpool, City of Manchester, Greater Manchester, North West Lancashire and North East Lancashire.
- Sale Sharks Foundation have also collaborated and provived coaching support at numerous inclusive community rugby events in the North West including Girls Festivals for year 7 pupils.
- We now have over 1,750 girls playing club rugby in the region, which represents a 10% increase.
- These statistics paint a very positive picture but we can achieve far more. Evidence from NHS research and Sports Datasets shows the North West is less physically active than other regions and 87% of North West schools have no or limited rugby activity, so there is plenty of opportunity for further growth.
Rugby not only improves physical fitness and mental wellbeing but also places importance on a code of conduct that develops social skills including tolerance, teamwork, leadership, concentration, determination, discipline, respect and dealing graciously with success or defeat.
If you are interested to give rugby a try, visit findrugby.com or find your local Lancashire club on our Club Finder
