Continuing our series on the summer of women’s sports and ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, we’ve conducted a deep dive into rugby fans. Yonder Consulting collected data on rugby fans in early June 2025, and we’re excited to see how these numbers change following the home Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Currently, there are around 7 million adult rugby union fans in the UK. With more than 34 million sports fans in the country, there is clearly room for rugby union to grow and the Women’s Rugby World Cup represents a fantastic opportunity.
Our data suggests that rugby fans are more likely than average sports fans to be male and older. But, will this change as a result of the home Women’s Rugby World Cup and where could the potential new fans come from?
And with rugby union’s appeal particularly strong in Wales and the South West of England, could the amount of Rugby World Cup matches being played across England build the sports appeal in other parts of the country?
The vast majority of rugby union fans follow men’s rugby either entirely or principally. Only a small minority (12%) of rugby union fans follow women’s rugby at least as much as men’s rugby. The Women’s World Cup, therefore, represents a big and important opportunity to change this and grow the number of women’s rugby fans (as well as rugby fans generally).
Our data shows that most sports fans are unlikely to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup. With the tournament being widely broadcast across the BBC, this is going to be a great opportunity for the women’s game to get in front of a large group of new fans. We’re going to track viewership and interest across the competition and report back after the final (which hopefully includes the Red Roses).
So, how many fans are likely to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup?
The upcoming tournament is a huge opportunity for women’s rugby, and we hope the sport can make the most of this unique occasion to grow the women’s game. Check back in with us in 5 weeks time to see how rugby fandom has shifted following the World Cup and what this means for rugby going forwards. #ForTheGirls
