Rugby World Cup: immense popular success in France

The initial hiccups have long been forgotten. During the first weekend of the World Cup, the lack of trams deprived many supporters of the XV du Trèfle from the Ireland-Romania kick-off in Bordeaux. And thousands of English and Argentinian supporters found themselves stuck at the entrance to the Stade-Vélodrome in Marseille, between insufficient staff and approximate guidance. The next day, France 2023 and World Rugby apologized and promised to remedy these organizational failures. Promise kept.

And make way for a successful party, full of color and decibels. Full stadiums (nearly 100% occupancy rate for already 1.8 million spectators), a friendly audience who fraternize, have fun, are enthusiastic. Expansive supporters, like those of the Blues who push the XV of France like never before, or the Green Army from Ireland. Up to 50,000 at the Stade de France continuing to sing well after the final whistle. Zombie by the Cranberries or irty Old Town by the Pogues still resonate in the aisles of the Stade de France.

A pleasure of communing which is found in the ten rugby villages welcoming enthusiasts on match evenings. France 2023 lists 1.16 million in total over the 40 matches of the group stage. With records: 140,000 in total during the opening match between France and New Zealand, forcing the organizers to close the fan zones of Marseille and Lyon, gauges reached. We vibrate there and we laugh there. We drink a few beers while socializing there too. Without animosity. Without the anxiety of the ultras who are ruining football. Whether there or in the stadiums, the feminization and the presence of entire families are strong indicators of a public which does not fear slippage. Other good news for France 2023 is that the enthusiasm also affects young people, going against the image of an aging public. The president of World Rugby, Bill Beaumont, welcomed this success, which highlights “the best of friendship, France and rugby”.

The organizer is also rubbing his hands regarding the sale of derivative products and jerseys. The official stores are taken by storm. The largest, Place de la Concorde, sees between 5,000 and 20,000 daily visitors (75% of whom are foreigners). And we came close to running out of stock on several occasions for the France and… South Africa jerseys. As for the equipment supplier of the French XV, Le Coq Sportif, we have a big smile on our faces. At the sustained rate of sales, 250,000 Blues jerseys are expected to be sold. Five times more than a normal year!

Also read: Rugby World Cup: which teams are most followed by the public?

Obviously, this immense popular success is reflected in television audiences. World Rugby announced on Tuesday a total cumulative audience of 164.5 million viewers on French channels. TF1 has already achieved its three best scores of the year 2023 with France-All Blacks (15.4 million), France-Italy (13 million) and France-Uruguay (11.8 million). But it’s not just the XV of France that is a hit. Ireland-South Africa attracted 6.8 million viewers and Ireland-Scotland 5 million. Prime time is in the lead, even when they are not broadcast by TF1 (which kept 20 matches, all in the evening, selling 10 matches to France Télévisions and 18 to M6). France 2 can rejoice in the 10.7 million viewers for France-Namibia and, on Sunday, the last match of the group stage between Fiji and Portugal allowed M6 to finish at the top of the audiences, with 3.6 million .

These two channels also do not complain about having acquired all the daytime matches for audiences between 2 and 3.2 million viewers. Now that the final phase is about to begin, TF1 (which sold the two 5 p.m. quarter-finals, keeping the other six matches until the final) hopes to see the 2007 World Cup record fall (18.3 million for the France-England semi-final). From Sunday evening for France-South Africa?