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France RWC has already surpassed Japan 2019 in multiple areas

LYON, FRANCE - OCTOBER 06: Fans of France celebrate during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between France and Italy at Parc Olympique on October 06, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Michael Steele - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Knockout

New Zealand
South Africa
11 - 12
Final
Argentina
New Zealand
6 - 44
SF1
England
South Africa
15 - 16
SF2
Wales
Argentina
17 - 29
QF1
Ireland
New Zealand
24 - 28
QF2
England
Fiji
30 - 24
QF3
France
South Africa
28 - 29
QF4
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Comments

2 Comments
R
Rob 491 days ago

Give the YouTubers access to clips. They are the future

S
Stephen11 492 days ago

1,800,000 fans over 40 games already played in the pool stages equals to an average crowd of 45,000 for each game. This is a truly extraordinary figure.

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Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
Western Force and ACT Brumbies looking for signs of progress in Super Rugby Pacific

It’s good to be at the start of the season, to be tipping the games again. Thanks for the article Brett. An interesting and, for me, informative read, as I have not kept up with all the news of all the teams, really only Qld.


Whatever happens in the search for a new coach for the WB’s, all of Les Kiss, Stephen Larkham and Dan McKellar will be coaching their respective teams this year. I believe Kiss to be the best of the three, and by a significant margin(the bad result against the Chiefs in the playoffs last season the one scar), and that gives Qld., in my view, an extra edge.


I agree, Brett, that Qld. on paper, and on squad strength and experience, look the best bet for Australia. If Tim Ryan builds on last year, he could be a WB starter against the Lions. The locking strength and depth is approaching that of teams like Leinster, Toulouse etc…not as strong ofc, but in Super Rugby circles, yes.


I like the type of game Kiss is building. Really carrying on from where he was rudely interrupted at London Irish, when they fell over. The one game on tour where they beat Ulster was a significant pointer to where they are at. While not a top Ulster unit, it was still a very good team, not easy to beat in Belfast. Sadly the Bristol game was a training run, but still valuable in a way, as the group were touring, building systems and understanding.


One player I will be watching with interest is Finn Hurley at the Highlanders. He was brought to my attention a year ago by the grandson of a friend, who knew him at Otago Boys High in Dunedin. Small, but resilient, with a good boot, from what I have seen on clips, he should have a useful first full year as a Highlander.


Hope the Force do well… have always had a “soft spot” for them. But good luck to all franchises, and pray for no serious injuries….as I have done forever, as aplayer, then coach, and now long retired rugby fanatic 😀

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