Five Million New Rugby Fans

In case you hadn't noticed, England are rugby union World Champions. The sport has rocketed from eighth place to second equal in popularity, according to research supported by financial services company Zurich and conducted as part of MORI's SportsTracker. In January 2003 just 18% of Britons said they had an interest in rugby: now, it's 27%. For comparison, 45% are interested in football.

The findings mean that 15.66 million adults are now interested in rugby union compared to 10.44 million adults prior to the World Cup - a 50% increase.

Wales still has the highest proportion interested in the sport - and may stay that way after a creditable performance in the tournament by the national side. However, interest is only up marginally in Wales and Scotland (2% each, to 38% and 15% respectively), while in England it has increased from 17% to 28%.

Older, white, middle class males are still among the keenest on rugby union, but popularity among some non-traditional groups is up sharply - among women (10% to 18%), younger people (12% to 19% of people aged 15-34) and people from lower social groups (13% to 22% of C2DEs).

Peter Hasler, head of sports research at MORI, says: 'England's success at the World Cup provides rugby with a fantastic opportunity, and one which the RFU is clearly keen to utilise and sustain. The trick will be ensuring that the current high levels of support for the England team are transmitted through to Zurich Premiership and clubs at grass roots level'.

Sarah O'Rafferty, Zurich's head of sponsorship, comments: 'We are delighted that the recent England win has helped to boost the popularity of rugby. As well as being an exciting sport, the game demonstrates important values such as teamwork, inclusivity and discipline. We are certain that the current popularity of rugby will continue to help attract a new and diverse audience to the sport'.



CAPI interviews were conducted with 2,094 British adults (aged 15+) between 4th and 11th December 2003.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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