4 billion people watched the rugby union world cup apparently. Individuals was the claim, not the same people counted again and again... and again.
Rugby league is a minority sport in all but a few places in the world, so it's bizarre that anyone should make out that it's some sort of surprise when the Rugby League World Cup isn't amongst the world's top sporting events in terms of viewing figures.
As someone has posted, most people around the world have no idea whatsoever or at the most, some vague conception of rugby, be it league or union. Spain has a well established domestic competition and the national side compete in world cup qualifiers, yet an amzing amount of people here think you play rugby with shoulder pads and a helmet.


I was at Wembley and that was a great weekend topped of by a cracking afternoon's rugby.

There are two games of rugby,for me they have no right to call it the rugby world cup.

And provide Leeds Carnegie/Tykes with more publicity than they warrant? No thanks.
And bvesides, no top flight union club is going to want to act as undercard for a game of rugby league.

Of the top 20 most populace countries in the world I would wager less than 0.1% have any comprehension of what rugby is. That top 20 alone is a total population of nearly 5 million out of a world population on c6.7m.

Actually you're right. The Quins double header wasn't exactly a huge success.

Except the trademark says different. If you feel so strongly, challenge it in court. Now is your chance to stick one to those ne'er do wells at the RFU. Make a stand dude!!!!! Fight for whats right!!

The thing being about RU though is that there is a massive level of junior club membership, Yorkshire alone has something like five leagues with at least 12 clubs to a league, each club will have two or three sides and then there's pub sides, schools, vets teams etc so there's a massive playing base across the whole country that are interested in reading about the sport and as interesting to the members of Wensleydale 2nd XV a report on their pre-season training might be it is the Premiership that will interest most players and ex-players from Yorkshire to Cornwall.
Rugby League by comparison is confined to a very small number (admittedly growing) number of clubs, once you get outside the heartlands a lot if not most of the players will be off season RU players so I can see why there is such a disparity in coverage, the interest of the two sports is not confined to the headline pro sides.

I used to fish, in fact I loved it. Doesn't mean I want to know what Will Raison has for breakfast or how Matt Hall is preparing for the latest event.

Thanks mackenzie.

Please identify how if 33 million watched the Final, the whole tournament was watched by "4 billion"?

Would you like to borrow the union calculator?

They've lied for over 115 years. It's second nature.

They just don't like you pointing that out...





Though they can't refute the arguments.

Quite. RU is beginning (in certain papers) to get the overkill coverage that football gets. Indeed, I bet that with no top-flight football this weekend, RU will get some pretty massive coverage, down to "Does Lewis Moody take two lumps in his tea?" stories.

That is because there is a surfeit of poor quality rugger types masquerading as journalists in the (sports) pages of just about every English paper...

They have to somehow justify their existence.

I just don't get this union lovefest with the press though.
Surely they can see what an overrated load of rubbish that it is compared to RL.
I know that our game has suffered years of bigotry from the press and it will stay the same.

Who do we think will win the rugby 7's at the commenwealth games? Looking at some of the countries involved, hats off to the IRB for spreading the game world wide

4 billion...

I repeat, it's the emperor's new clothes. Everyone is told how wonderful the product is, we were told before the season started it would be the best year ever due to more rule changes. You can still win a game with 24 points from kicks. If you ask your average yawnion type what they like about the game it is a load of patronising waffle. Yawnion is all about image, status & the occasion rather than the game. I am envious of some of that.

My only interest is England not winning.

In a competition that features New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa I reckon that's a pretty safe bet.

England will do well to medal IMO.

Shame on you Urmston!


Lewis drinks nespressos

Rugby sevens is an abortion of game. Rugby League is labelled 'glorified British bulldog' by some of the more ignorant critics, yet these same people wax lyrical about a game which could be taken to court by the International British Bulldog Federation (IBBF). =#FFFFFFYes, the completely ficticious International British Bulldog Federation
Utterly pointless.

Im sure you said the same about the rugby league 9's when your team won it didnt you. oh wait a minute.....

Thanks mackenzie.

You are struggling with the 33 million to 4 billion conversion I see...

I thought you union types were good at goal kicking?

In my opinion nines is a better spectacle than sevens. rugby league nines has 4 fewer players on each side whereas rugby union sevens has 8 fewer players on each side. The difference is enormous and affects the games immensely.
I watch rugby league, nines and union, but I can't sit through sevens.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/9056033.stmDisgusting. Feel so sorry for the lad.[/url