Move over slow-pitch softball and football, rugby is the fastest growing team sport in the United States according to the latest U.S. Trends in Team Sports Report. Rugby still has a long way to go to catch the likes of football, gymnastics, and soccer, but with and 81 percent growth between 2008-2013 rugby is making gains. Much of the growth as at the youth level. Rugby grew 30.5% among 6-12 year olds and 6.9 perfect among 13-17 year olds. Lacrosse and hockey were the other big gainers while wrestling and football lost the most.
Overall, rugby is still a minor sport compared to the participation in other sports but it's growth is still a testament to the hard work being put into the grassroots development of the sport. Programs like Serevi Rugby, Rookie Rugby, and Play Rugby USA have seen the number of very young players increase. Anyone who has paid attention to the high school game as undoubtedly seen the number of teams and players on the rise. For example, in Utah most high schools now have teams and many of those have JV teams as well as feeder teams in middle schools. Eventually this growth with lead to improvements in college and club rugby, as well as the national teams.