Reports of the death of Australian rugby may have been greatly exaggerated

Is rugby really the 26th most played sport in Australia, or are Roy Morgan’s latest figures ‘fake news’?

Rugby is less popular in Australia than ballroom dancing, ten pin bowling and darts, according to participation figures released by research company Roy Morgan.

The survey of 14,330 Australians placed rugby 26th on the list of sports, with an estimated 55,000 participants nationwide in 2016. That number is down a spectacular 63% from the company’s 2001 figure of 148,000.

After a month of poor Super Rugby results for Australian franchises, and with the SANZAAR axe already hovering over one of the Force, Rebels or Brumbies, the figures don’t look good.

But are they accurate?

Nowhere near, says Australian rugby columnist Brett McKay, who labelled the report “fake news” on The Roar this morning.

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According to one of McKay’s sources, in 2016 there were 33,000 active rugby players across all formats in Queensland alone – and that’s just the girls and women.

“Apparently there are only 18,000 other rugby players Australia-wide,” McKay wrote. “That is, all males in Queensland, and all players in total in NSW, the ACT, Victoria, and Western Australia. And everywhere else in between.”

Roy Morgan’s figure of 55,000 is miles off recent participation numbers provided by the ARU (267,463 in 2015) and the Australian Sports Commission (199,000 in 2016).

Something doesn’t quite add up. While the sensational figures have been quickly lapped up by international media, it would probably pay to take them with a rather large grain of salt.