RUGBY UNION has finally overtaken its league compatriots in the popularity stakes, according to new research, published today.
Last season, rugby union’s Zurich Premiership overtook rugby league’s Super League as the more popular rugby club scene, in a survey commissioned for the new edition of Rugby World Magazine (published 6th July).
Based on figures supplied by Premier Rugby and Super League for their respective last full season, the average attendance for a Premiership home game was 7,490 compared to Super League’s 7,087.
Howard Thomas, chief executive of Premier Rugby, was naturally delighted, but also realistic. ‘League has always claimed that their club game has always been bigger than ours and it is interesting to know that we have now gone past that. English rugby as a whole has succeeded. The quality of club rugby has continued to improve with success in the European Heineken Cup and Parker Pen Shield, as well of course. England’s international performances have greatly helped as well.
‘Yes, it’s useful to have a look at rugby league and at soccer, but our biggest objective is to make our own sport viable, reach our own targets for our own reasons. We have invested a lot of money and effort in terms of growing the industry.’
Not only is the Zurich Premiership more popular than Super League but Leicester Tigers are also the most popular rugby club in the country. Last season their average home attendance at Welford Road was 15,384, nearly 2,500 ahead of their closest rival, Leeds Rhinos of the Super League, on 12,907, with two further league teams trailing in their wake – Bradford Bulls, third, on 12,319, then Wigan Warriors on 11,454.
The Leicester Tigers made a significant breakthrough during their recent season as their average attendance was bigger than the average crowd in football’s Nationwide Division One.
Of the 24 teams that make up the Zurich Premiership and Super League, union clubs are seven of the top 12 best supported teams with Gloucester, Northampton Saints, Saracens, Bath, London Irish and NEC Harlequins all growing their attendances by a considerable percentage over recent seasons.
NEC Harlequins had one of the biggest increases in crowd attendance last season with several full houses and an average attendance of 6,690 – a percentage rise of 46.7% from the previous season. Mark Evans, the chief executive, believes the success of the latest increase began two years ago. ‘We’ve put a lot of work into the community programme and community marketing. We’ve worked hard on bringing people to the ground via our associate clubs, improving the match-day experience; we’ve given people different price points for season tickets and improved our data base.’
Rugby World editor Paul Morgan added: ‘Our survey proves that the club scene in both union and league is vibrant. They have both made great strides in the last few years and it’s clear they are continuing to grow in what is a very exciting time for rugby.’
Home attendances: Zurich Premiership 2001/2002-SuperLeague 2001 season
Average attendance – Union: 7,490
Average attendance – League: 7,087
1 Leicester Tigers 15,384 – Union
2 Leeds Rhinos 12,907 – League
3 Bradford Bulls 12,319 – League
4 Wigan Warriors 11,454 – League
5 Gloucester 9,397 – Union
6 Northampton Saints 9,300 – Union
7 St Helens 8,802 – League
8 Saracens 8,388 – Union
9 Bath 8,048 – Union
10 London Irish 7,254 – Union
11 Castleford Tigers 7,102 – League
12 NEC Harlequins 6,690 – Union
13 Hull FC 6,520 – League
14 Warrington Wolves 6,422 – League
15 London Wasps 5,861 – Union
16 Newcastle Falcons 5,497 – Union
17 Bristol Shoguns 5,319 – Union
18 Halifax Blue Sox 4,832 – League
19 Sale Sharks 4,593 – Union
20 Salford City Reds 4,170 – League
21 Leeds Tykes 4,143 – Union
22 Wakefield T Wildcats 3,670 – League
23 Huddersfield Giants 3,667 – League
24 London Broncos 3,177 – League
*The average attendances are for league matches and do not include play-offs or cup competitions.
For more information contact:
Sally Price, Communications Manager, Premier Rugby on 020 8831 6727 or Paul Morgan at Rugby World on 020 7261 6830.