The next time the BBC decides to put the Six Nations results near the bottom of its home page, they may want to check the stats: rugby is the ninth most popular sport in the world, hitting a record 475 million fans around the world. Sure, it's not the 4 billion that soccer boasts, but rugby matches juggernaut sports like baseball and golf.
Originating in England, it holds a special place amongst former colonies like Australia and New Zealand. It's also crafted a following in more unexpected countries, like Italy and Argentina. Japan hosting the World Cup in 2019 also served as a huge boost in the sport's popularity in the country. It's no surprise rugby has some of the more lucrative television deals.
It's not just watching the highest level, either. Rugby is also very popular amongst players of all ages, men and women alike. In 2014, over six million people played rugby on a regular basis, of which 2.36 were registered players.
How Does Rugby Compare?
Rugby is popular, no doubt. But where does it rank against other sports? We've already mentioned soccer, which has four billion (!) fans. That's no surprise. But did you know cricket has a fan base of over 2 billion? It may be surprising to most people, but when you consider former British colonies with high populations that love the sport (e.g. India and Pakistan), it makes a little more sense.
There's no way rugby is going to catch up with these two, at least not in the short term. But how about tennis, which has about double the number of fans? Perhaps it has something to do with star power; can rugby build up personal brands that can compete with names like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, or Nadal?
Or perhaps rugby needs to go all-in on a particular country. As we can learn from ArabianBetting's sports guide, for example, some areas like the Middle East have their own region-specific sports, like camel and horse racing. However, we can also see that sports like basketball, boxing, tennis, and football have also penetrated due to exclusive television deals with certain countries. These sports became so popular that many fans, even in this region, are looking for options to support their teams by placing a few bets.
Can rugby attempt something similar? Perhaps, but it would require a combined effort. The advantage basketball has, in this case, is that the most popular league in the world, the NBA, dominates the market and as such can push its brand collectively. It also helps that the United States has perfected the art of legend-building; see the recent documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, The Last Dance.
Is Rugby Dying in Australia?
It's not all good news, however. In Australia, for instance, some are worried by the declining interest in the sport. Is the concern warranted? The statistics show that it may be time to start ringing the alarm bells.
Even though the country boasts some of the highest participation rates, with a healthy 230,000 registered players, the sport is sinking in terms of popularity. It now sits behind Aussie rules, football, cricket, and tennis.
Why is rugby losing its seat as one of the most popular sports in the country?
First, it's the lack of international success in recent years. The Wallabies lost a disappointing quarterfinal against the English during the last World Cup, and things haven't improved much since.
But that's just a short-term issue, really. The main hint that suggests the sport is trending down is the fact that kids are increasingly turning to football instead. It's seen as a safer sport by parents, and with a recent wave of emigration from countries where football runs supreme, it's no surprise 14.8% of kids play the sport.
Lessons for Rugby Suits
Australia is a case that needs to be looked at more closely by the ‘suits', those in charge of the various governing bodies. Yes, rugby remains popular, but you can't sit still and stop doing the work to attract players and fan interest.
Rugby Australia, for example, needs a coherent and sustainable plan to put this sport back where it should be. The interest is still there, and the professional leagues are still thriving. Should those in charge show a little bit of leadership, and the ship's course can be sorted out.
This advice stands true for the rest of the rugby federations across the world. Despite being in the top 10 most popular sports, there's a lot of work to be done to ensure the sport continues to succeed. With parents increasingly pushing children to ‘safer' sports, the television power of the United States taking market share for the NBA and NFL, there's cause for concern.
Yet there's still much to celebrate. Rugby is a wonderful sport, intensely fun, and the various leagues and national tournaments consistently produce world-class talents that build jaw-dropping highlight reels on a regular basis. Instead of always worrying about whether rugby has a future, let's also take time to enjoy the present.
