Came across this in my travels.
http://qrfsu.rugbynet.com.au/default.asp?id=169728
Is it just me, or are almost all of them still playing rugby union, and if so, is this a higher proportion of schoolboys still playing 2 or 3 years on, than usual?
[From 1999 (or so) there was a research paper that analysed the playing backgrounds of the Wallabies and they found that something like less than 2% of Australian U16s went on to play for the Wallabies, and only 15% were still playing rugby at 22yo (after age-limited competitions ended). As you went up through the levels (ie: Aussie Schoolboys, Aus 19s and Aus 21s as they were back then) the proportion grew greater, until 60-70% of Aus 21s went on to further honours, and more and more of them were still playing at 22+.
Part of my research study back then was looking at why this was so. Of course, the rugby landscape of 2013 is very different to the rugby landscape of the 1990s and early 2000s.]