The colts grade in the Dunedin competition has shrunk by more than a third in seven years as player numbers continue to take a hit.
Two teams dropped out of the junior colts grade this week. Kaikorai and Southern pulled teams from the grade due to a lack of players.
The premier colts grade has eight teams in it, including the Southland Boys' High School First XV, while the junior colts grade has seven teams.
In 2011, the premier colts grade had 12 teams, all from clubs, and the junior colts competition had nine teams.
Colts numbers have slowly disappeared as clubs struggle to get players to commit to teams and the lack of front-rowers has had an effect.
In 2011, the junior colts grade had teams in it from Clutha, Telford and Brighton but they have all disappeared.
Otago Boys' High School's Second XV played in junior colts but has since moved back to the premier schools competition.
Dunedin fielded five colts team through the two grades but has fallen back to three teams.
Kaikorai chairman Ron St Clair-Newman said the club wanted to have two teams in the junior colts teams and it had been working hard and attracted players.
But in the end the club had to make the decision to have just the one team in the junior colts grade.
It also had a team in the premier colts grade.
The club just did not quite have enough to cover two teams and it did not want to enter a team and then find it did not have sufficient players.
The days of having 20 players in a squad have long gone as players can simply not commit to every Saturday, so clubs have to have bigger squads.
Southern chairman Blair Crawford said it had decided to pull its Southern Ravens team which was set to play in the junior colts grade.
With other colts players going up to the premier grade and some players moving elsewhere it could not get enough players for two teams.
The club was fielding three teams this year with a premier side, a senior side and a colts side.
Last year, the club had started with three colts teams, one of which came from the Unicol College.
There are numerous reasons for the drop in playing numbers but it is worrying it is affecting the colts grade which is traditionally the breeding ground for the next premier players.
Pirates, Zingari-Richmond and Green Island do not have premier colts sides.
Pirates club captain Mark Howat said the club was initially looking at combining with Zingari-Richmond for a premier two team.
But it decided this week to go on its own and field a team in the premier two grade. It is to play defending grade champion West Taieri tomorrow.
Pirates was forced to pull out of the premier grade last year and did not have a colts team last year.
This year its only male team is its premier two team which had a precarious status but Howat said yesterday the players had decided to go ahead and play tomorrow.
The Harbour club had also struggled with its senior team but club chairman Martin Paris said the team was now settled and would play Crescent tomorrow.