New Zealand Rugby League says its playing numbers have increased by over fifty percent in the past year.
NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle says participation numbers had climbed by 52 per cent since 2009 with the overall total now more than 24 thousand.
He says when the Kiwis won the World Cup two years ago, rugby league in New Zealand was in crisis.
The areas with the biggest increases were Manawatu, Taranaki and Counties Manukau, Waikato and Auckland.
