Rugby union’s revival: Premiership attendance breaks competition record …

he 2023-24 season of Premiership Rugby had the highest average match attendance since the competition’s inception in 1987.

After a packed-out Twickenham Stadium witnessed Northampton Saints’ thrilling 25-21 victory over Bath, the average match attendance of 15,379 toppled the previous record set in 2016-17.

This comes just one season on from one of the most challenging periods in the sport’s national history, following the liquidation of three top-flight sides and ever-growing concerns surrounding player welfar

Jonny Fordham, Head of Communications at Premiership Rugby said: “The competitiveness and tightness was definitely a factor in the increased attendances seen this season.

“We’ve just had the fifth different winner in five seasons, remarkable when you look at other sports where the same teams seem to dominate, which keeps it fresh and exciting for supporters.”

From the 1997/98 Premiership Rugby season (where crowd figures were first officially recorded), the competition saw an almost yearly increase in attendances into the start of the new millennia up until the 2009/10 season, which saw average crowds exceed 14,000 for the first time.

Following a peak in the 2016/17 season, attendances struggled to exceed the previous record of 15,065, and attendances have struggled to fully recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.