Rucks and Riches:

[Nearly Sane]

...English rugby 'at rock bottom and trying to move ourselves out'

Be interested to watch this. Until the demise of so many clubs, I had no real idea of how fragile the finances were. The article makes a lot of Covid but it feels, as in so many things, to have been an issue speeded up by Covid rather than it being the main cause.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67070361

[jeremyp]

...English rugby 'at rock bottom and trying to move ourselves out'

Be interested to watch this. Until the demise of so many clubs, I had no real idea of how fragile the finances were. The article makes a lot of Covid but it feels, as in so many things, to have been an issue speeded up by Covid rather than it being the main cause.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67070361

COVID was just the thing that tipped it over the edge. They already knew they had a problem, hence the salary cap and everything.

For context, average attendance at English Premiership rugby matches last year was 12,569 and that excludes figures for Wasps whose attendance was below 10,000.

https://www.cityam.com/premiership-enjoys-attendance-bounce-but-figures-little-for-rugby-to-cheer-about/

Last year, Wrexham, a slightly(!) anomalous national league side was regularly getting attendances around 10,000 for twice as many games and they would have been struggling if they were still there now. The level of support for the Premiership is somewhere around the level for EFL leagues one or two.

[jeremyp]

Interestingly, Worcester was always on a knife edge but Wasps and London Irish had both recently relocated. It con't do much for your attendance figures to move away from a location where you have built up a fan base.