New Zealand Rugby recorded its national playing stocks this week and there are now 156,067 registered players in the country. That is up from 155,934 last year.
A registered player has officially registered to play organised sport and taken part in a minimum of four matches.
In 2017, almost one in six registered players was female, with more than 24,000 females nationwide lacing up the boots.
There was a steep rise in girls playing the game and more women were staying in the game.
NZR head of community rugby Brent Anderson said rugby while remained in excellent shape there was always more work to do.
``Rugby is our national sport and we're proud to deliver a game that is played across the country and loved by New Zealanders of all ages, genders and ethnicities,'' Anderson said.
``As the fabric of our country changes we're developing new and alternative formats of rugby which appeal to a wider group of New Zealanders.''
``It's great to see non-contact forms such as Rippa Rugby and Quick Rip continue to grow in popularity.
``We also need to continue to work hard to keep rugby relevant and appealing to teenagers.''
Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley said Otago playing numbers had risen slightly from 7843 in 2016 to 7914 for this season.
Coaches had risen from 621 to 643 while referees had gone up to 101 from 94.
He said there was an increase in the junior girls grade and more teams in the Metropolitan and Central Otago grades in the junior ranks.
The under-11 to under-13 grade remained a challenge to keep players interested.
In the teenage years, there was an increase in female secondary school players and that could be put down to the implementation of an under-15 girls grade this year.
But overall there had been a 5% increase in secondary school players which was also due to increases in numbers in Central Otago schools.
More males were playing in the university social competition but that may have caused the loss of players in the junior colts grade.
In the adult grade, the numbers - 1261 - had remained basically the same. This was despite losing four teams with sides from the Pirates club withdrawing and the senior side from Roxburgh withdrawing from the Central Otago competition.
Kinley said the drop-off in teams may have been offset by teams carrying larger squads and better data collection during the registration process.
He said overall the numbers were pleasing but there was still plenty of work to do.
It was great to get an increase in coaches which were the lifeblood of the sport and kept the game going.
Referees had passed the 100 mark and plenty of hard work had gone on to recruit and retain the referees.
