United Rugby Championship, the club competition contested by teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales, set a new cumulative attendance record of 1.69 million during its 2023-24 season.
The figure represented a 3% rise in overall attendances, with crowds averaging at 11,200 per game. Round 9 of the competition also set a new record for a single round, as 146,000 fans watched the action across eight games in Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
The Round 9 figure was boosted by crowds of 37,246 for DHL Stormers vs Hollywoodbet Sharks, 37,904 for Edinburgh Rugby vs Glasgow Warriors, and 26,632 for Vodacom Bulls vs Emirates Lions. The previous best single round attendance was 135,747, which was set during Round 8 of the 2023-24 season.
The total attendance for URC’s 2022-23 season was 1.6 million, which was surpassed in 2023-24.
URC chief executive Martin Anayi said: “There is more collaboration happening between the clubs, the league, the broadcasters and commercial partners to promote our games and attract fans to venues. Across the board all of our clubs have made strides to innovate and improve their match-day experiences and as a result supporters are now enjoying a day out that goes beyond the 80 minutes of play.
“With a number of teams upgrading their stadiums over the next 18 months we believe that these numbers will continue to rise in the long term with some great examples of best practice being deployed across all of our territories.”
The 2023-24 URC season was won by the Glasgow Warriors, who defeated the Vodacom Bulls in the final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
