France Rugby World Cup 2023 may become as popular as FIFA

Posted by World Wide Tickets And Hospitality on July 11th, 2023

How is the RWC 2023 shaping up, and can it help Rugby Union to become as admired as football across the world? This September will see the 10th repetition of the men’s Rugby World Cup get underway in France, with the hosts presently the bookmakers’ choices to win this title for the first ever time. Once again, this quadrennial world contest will follow hot on the heels of football’s FIFA alternative.

France Rugby World Cup fans from all over the world are called to book RWC 2023 tickets from our online platform WorldWideTicketsandHospitality.com Rugby fans can book France Rugby World Cup 2023 Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

The last repetition of which only concluded in December 2022 after an electrifying finale between winners Argentina and France. Historically, of course, this competition has outshined the Rugby World Cup, both in terms of durability and average viewership facts. But how is the world cup 2023 shaping up, and can it help Rugby Union to become as common as football across the globe?

Football vs Rugby World Cup Viewership

The Qatar FIFA World Cup attained several outstanding firsts, not least because it was the first competition finals to be held in the Middle East. Due to worries about the summer climate and humidity, the competition also earned the distinction of being held in the winter, which was another first for the FIFA franchise. With these facts in mind, it’s expected that the 2022 finals were among the most watched in the competition’s history.

With viewership up by 30% when compared to the 2018 iteration. To this end, an astounding 26 million viewers watched the showpiece final in the US alone, with global spectators measuring around 1.5 billion in total. But how does this stack up against the rugby substitute? Well, the 2019 competition in Japan broke new ground in terms of viewership records for the sport, with the final clash between England and ultimate winners South Africa drawing a live audience of 44.9 million.

However, there’s a noticeable difference between these two viewers, and this highlights the chasm that exists in terms of global popularity. Even in the UK, there’s a moderately large difference in average viewership figures when watching the English football and rugby countrywide teams. For example, England’s gut-wrenching quarterfinal defeat to France in Qatar was viewed by a peak British spectator of 19.4 million viewers.

As the Three Lions were removed by Olivier Giroud’s late goal. Equally, England’s defeat to South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final drew a peak audience of just 12.8 million spectators, with this quite an important chasm given the relative size of the UK. Rugby fans can book RWC Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

How can France Rugby World Cup progress to draw football’s fame?

The obvious take-out here is that rugby is more popular than football, but it’s perhaps more accurate to say that the former holds a much larger global petition. This is also echoed by the nature of each sport’s world cup. After all, the most recent FIFA World Cup saw 32 contests from five different continents, while the 2026 contest in North America will feature 48 partaking nations from six continents.

Equally, just 20 teams will contest in the RWC 2023 in France, although this contest will at least see representation from five continents specifically Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America. However, while the 2023 competition will see three teams from South America partake for the first time, the sport remains excessively popular in Southern Hemisphere nations including New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

So, if Rugby Union is to grow and gain the global popularity of football, energies must be made to promote it further through the Americas and the Northern Hemisphere, especially in parts of Central Europe where the sport is barely played. Even in regions like the UK where Rugby Union has a rich heritage, fewer boys are playing the sport than ever before at the school level. This is another area that will have to be addressed, with the chance to play football more gamely available and arguably appealing to students.

Rugby World Cup 2023: The Bottom Line

The France Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures feature some remarkable games during the pool stage, including the mouth-watering competition opener between host France and New Zealand. What’s more, managers are renewing their efforts to drive spectator visit and create a more immersive viewing skill for fans, and these two motives explain why the 2023 contest is expected to smash all previous competition viewership records.

While the competition will break new ground and potentially rise Rugby Union’s global popularity, however, the sport has a long way to go before it can equal the appeal of football worldwide. Make no error; such an evolution would take time, effort and appointment, while it would also start with a grassroots drive-in individual nation.

Which players should we keep an eye on during France Rugby World Cup 2023?

Titi Lamositele, talented at propping on both sides of the scrum, won trophies at Saracens before moving to Montpellier in the wake of the salary-cap shame. He has been allowable to switch allegiance from the USA to Samoa due to the recent variation in World Rugby aptness rules that allows players to switch nations after a three-year stand-down period, provided that they qualify through birthright. 

Tonga is likely to count Adam Coleman, the Australia lock, among their nation-hopping troop at the RWC and Pacific Island sides are not the only ones taking advantage of the rule change. Henry Thomas could swap England for Wales and Tawera Kerr-Barlow, the brilliant La Rochelle scrum-half, is now qualified to switch from New Zealand to Australia by dint of being born in Melbourne.

Just a few days are left in RWC

South Africa confirmed that they would be discovering the availability of ex-Ireland lock Jean Kleyn, in fine form for Munster last season. The tournament begins on Friday, September 8 with France taking on New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup Final will be played on Saturday, October 28. South Africa was the winner of the last competition in Japan in 2019.

They beat England in the final and will be among the choices again this year. New Zealand, as ever, will be the team to beat. However, a strong European challenge is anticipated, not least from the hosts France and Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland, who have yet to put their best foot forward at an RWC.

We are offering Rugby World Cup Tickets Rugby admirers can get RWC Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Worldwide tickets and hospitality are the most reliable source to book France Rugby World Cup tickets.