Reinventing Rugby

More than 800 million people worldwide have an interest in Rugby Union but only 24 million are superfans of the professional club game, according to research outlined in ‘Reinventing Rugby’ our new report looking into the health of the sport. Bridging this gap is the number one challenge facing rugby.

Rugby’s failure to engage with potential fans outside of top international matches is a key reason it continues to struggle financially. It is also putting the sport at risk of losing out - on both talent and supporters - to more reform-minded and dynamic sports.

The report highlights:

• Vast potential worldwide fan base, disengaged from club rugby
  Rugby interests more than 800 million people globally according to Nielsen fan base research and 200 million watch some of the men’s Rugby World Cup every four years, yet only 24 million are fully engaged fans of professional club rugby worldwide.

• Financial fragility despite global appeal
  International Rugby Union generates strong per-match revenues ($12 million per Test), but unions collectively ran losses of $137 million in 2023/24. Club rugby is even worse – the English Premiership and France’s Top 14 lost circa $100 million in the same period. The sport is kept afloat largely by the men’s Rugby World Cup and the Lions tours.

• Less of a pyramid more of an iceberg
  Most sports use the most commercially attractive competitions to fund the lower down levels of the pyramid that develop players and encourage participation. But rugby’s pyramid lacks enough commercially attractive activities to fund the rest of the sport in an age of increasing competition for participation and talent.

• Losing out to other sports
  Participation in Rugby Union in major markets is flat or falling. The sport failed to capitalise on the potential to attract Rugby League fans (only one third of the combined fan base in many markets follows both sports) and has failed to capitalise on the resurgent interest in contact sports globally (NFL, UFC, Boxing).

• Club rugby lacks reach and scale
  TV audiences for Premiership matches average 250k–350k compared to 5+ million per Six Nations match. Club attendance is modest outside finals and often in decline.

• Player welfare and earnings under strain
  Players are required to play significant volumes of matches for both club and country, which increases injury risk and provides minimal time to develop personal brands. Yet wages are stagnating and lag far behind other sports – risking an even greater talent exodus.

Click here to read the full report.