Rugby gains popularity around the world
In 2019, according to a large-scale study by World Rugby, interest in rugby increased markedly.
The World Rugby Council published a comprehensive report, according to which the different degrees of involvement of people and organizations in rugby at the end of 2019 increased. The analysis was carried out by the world’s leaders in global ratings and analytics – Nielsen. The company collected information in 17 traditionally rugby and developing countries in order to understand how our game has become more popular in the world.
As a result of the study, it turned out that the number of rugby “followers” increased by 11%, and the number of fans – by 18%. Now the numbers are 877 million and 405 million, respectively.
What explains this increase? First of all, the holding of the World Cup in Asia. The tournament broke all records of human engagement on the continent. In addition, developing countries have contributed as well as women who have become not only more watching, but also playing rugby.
The oval ball game, according to research, has become even more associated with teamwork, honesty, dignity and discipline. The majority of respondents also said that modern rugby is safer than it was five years ago.
Interest in women’s rugby has grown by 45% and in men’s – by 63% in developed rugby countries. And in developing countries – by 27% and 30%, respectively.
Thanks to the World Cup, 14% of Indians are now interested in rugby, representing a 75% increase since 2018. In addition, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have entered the Top 20 countries in terms of TV viewing of matches.
“The Nielsen survey results show how fantastic 2019 has been for our sport. We have hosted a historic World Cup that has generated worldwide interest,”said World Rugby CEO Sir Bill Beaumont.
