WRU say more people are playing rugby than before Covid-19 pandemic despite claims the grassroots game is dying

The Welsh Rugby Union have revealed record-breaking figures for participation at grassroots level.

The Union say a digital registration system which was brought into action three seasons ago has given them more reliable data when it comes to deciphering just how many players there are in the game. It has been a hot topic throughout the pandemic amid fears that players would be walking away from the game and clubs would be unable to recapture their attention when lockdowns subsided.

There have also recently been examples of clubs being unable to complete their seasons with teams not being able to put sides together. This is thought to be exacerbated by the absence of promotion or relegation throughout the community game, leaving teams with very little to actually play for. This was a one-off step taken by the WRU due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There will, of course, be hope that this will not be the case next year, should clubs finally be able to play out a full season of fixtures with the prospect of promotion and threat of relegation back on the table. And that will hopefully be bolstered by these new participation figures, which the WRU say flies in the face of claims that the community game is on its knees.

According to the WRU's records, there are 45,613 boys/men from under-7s up to the senior game currently registered in Wales. The figure for girls/women is 5,686, bringing the combined total to 51,299. That is a marginal increase on the pre-pandemic figure of 48,681.

For the women and girls' game, whose season officially runs from March to December in Wales, it boasts the highest number of registered female players so far. Forty senior club sides and 37 hubs, with teams from under-7s up to under-18s and also senior