France RWC has already surpassed Japan 2019 in multiple areas
Ahead of the knockout stages of this year's Rugby World Cup, World Rugby and France 2023 have already announced some record-breaking milestones for the tournament.
Tournament organisers have announced that attendance figures for Rugby World Cup 2023 are already outpacing the 2019 edition, with Rugby Village attendance surpassing the record set in Japan.
Some 1.16 million people have now visited the 10 official Rugby Villages the length and breadth of the host nation, surpassing the 1.13 million set at Rugby World Cup 2019.
With eight knock-out matches left to be played, France 2023 is poised to break the 1.5 million milestone, a figure that reflects enormous passion for the tournament.
Meanwhile, match attendance has reached 1.8 million, surpassing the 1.7 million total for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.
Fans have descended on France from all corners of the world with the Netherlands and Germany among the top 10 nations in the ticket purchasing rankings, while fans from debutants Chile, 2007 returnees Portugal and 2019 hosts Japan have all added to the special atmosphere.
Record Rugby Village and stadia attendance builds on the wider success of the tournament with cumulative match attendance of almost two million and on target to set a new overall record.
BROADCAST AND SOCIAL
Broadcast ratings in France also reflect the ‘rugby buzz’ sweeping the nation with a total cumulative audience of more than 164.5 million (more than the total French audience for RWC 2019) and matches involving the host nation rated the most viewed programmes of 2023 on TF1.
Meanwhile, the tournament is attracting a whole new generation of fans. Launched a week prior to the tournament, the official fantasy game is being played by more than 500,000 people.
In addition, official social media accounts have attracted 1.8 million new followers with more than a third from Spanish-speaking nations and 400,000 from USA, highlighting the rapid growth in fans across the Americas in particular in recent years. More than 1.1 billion views of Rugby World Cup content have been achieved so far, thanks to collaboration between World Rugby and the teams.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We set out to make Rugby World Cup 2023 rugby’s greatest celebration of togetherness, the sport’s ultimate birthday party, and it is certainly capturing the imagination, attracting and exciting fans in record numbers.
“With a variety of fun activities, partner activations and live screening of all the matches, the Rugby World Cup 2023 Rugby Villages have become one of the major attractions of a special tournament. They are much more than a destination to watch matches, they are bringing together domestic and international fans in celebration of rugby, France and friendship.”
France 2023 Chairman Jacques Rivoal added: “We are pleased to see how successful France 2023’s Rugby Villages have been throughout the pool stage. As I travel across the country, I am met with joyful scenes of local and international rugby fans coming together to celebrate our sport.
“I want to thank the host cities and host metropolises that have worked tirelessly over the past months in making these 10 Rugby Villages a reality. It is a wonderful expression of the popular success that Rugby World Cup 2023 is here in France.”
The next round of matches is set to kick off on Saturday, 14 October, when Wales take on Argentina in Marseille.
Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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