By Jerram Watts
The 2012 Rippa Rugby Championship wrapped up in Wellington today with Counties Manukau pipping Manawatu in the final.
The two-day tournament showcased 200 budding young players from around the country, and the sport is enjoying a post-Rugby World Cup boom.
The capital turned on a fittingly ripper day for the final of the Rippa tournament – a competition for year five and six student that mixes boys and girls.
And it is the simplicity of the code that makes it so attractive.
“It’s nice and safe, kids don’t get hurt playing it, don’t get their clothes ripped, [it’s] very easy for primary teachers to get their kids out playing it - we think it's great,” says New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) community general manager Buck Anderson.
Rugby registrations for under 12s have increased 6 percent since 2011 to just under 80,000 players - that's more than half of the 150,000 registered players across all age groups.
“I think the World Cup has played its part, but we've also been working with this age group, resources in schools, coaching programmes that are in place and this Rippa version of the game is very popular with the teachers, which is important for us,” says NZRU chief executive Steve Tew.
Counties and Manawatu were the best of the 20 provinces in the championship, which mimics the ITM Cup. The final went down to the wire, with Counties eventually claiming the trophy with a 25-20 win.
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