Whites, fearing the growing numbers of bigger, fitter and stronger Polynesians, are fleeing rugby union, the latest monthly issue of "New Zealand Rugby" reports.

And it reveals that New Zealand, once a shrine to the oval ball, now has more registered soccer players - 114 000 - than rugby players.

Around 17 per cent of New Zealand's total population are Maori or Polynesian, while the magazine noted that in their four Super 12 franchises, 56 per cent of the teams were Maori or Polynesian, and 57 per cent were in national provincial sides.

The magazine noted that of the 150-plus seniors who played in Auckland's top competition this year, fewer than 30 were white. Calling it "white flight", the magazine said there were a number of reasons for the depletion.

Dave Atkins, coach of Auckland's champion club side Ponsonby said once the club was a case of "the Mighty Whites against the rest". Then Maori started joining Ponsonby and it was whites and Maori against Pacific Islanders.

"Now, its the Mighty Whities, Maori and Tongans against the Samoans. There are lots of reasons why it's happening, but it generally comes back to one thing ... the sheer athletic ability of the Polynesian versus the European."

The story was similar at the Pakuranga Rugby Club, an area known as mostly white and middle-class. Their club coach Greg Kasper blamed "Soccer Mums Syndrome".

"Mothers are concerned their kids are going to get a bit of a hiding at the hands of the Polynesian kids of the same age. They realise that their kids are probably going to be swamped because the Polynesian kids are strong, bigger and have more skills than Caucasian kids of the same age." - Sapa