Now that the group stage has been and gone in the Rugby League World Cup, now is as good a time as any to reflect on the tournament so far and specifically one of the main talking points of the tournament so far attendances.
Since New Zealand’s opening game against Lebanon only attracted 5,000 fans at Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium – 10,000 less than the Kiwis’ first game back in 2013 – which was described as “disappointing” by Chief Executive Jon Dutton, there has been claims that the prices are too high for tickets during a cost of living crisis.
That said, the England games have been attracting massive crowds with an accumulative crowd of 84,000 fans attending England’s three games.
Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium has impressed with the fourth and fifth best attended games and the top two outside of England games with 13,000 watching Australia’s opening fixture and 14,000 watching New Zealand’s final group stage game.
St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium also attracted five figures with 10,000 attending Tonga vs Papua New Guinea in week one.
The Eco-Power Stadium is the only ground to not break 5,000 doing so in its first two games but last night nearly claimed 7,000.
So, all told, the attendances have been strong. If you’re not sure, here’s every attendance so far:
Round 1:
43,119 – England vs Samoa St James’ Park
10,409 – Tonga vs Papua New Guinea Totally Wicked Stadium
6,188 – Wales vs Cook Island Leigh Sports Village
Round 2:
10,276 – Australia vs Scotland Coventry Building Society Stadium
3,675 – Fiji vs Italy Kingston Park
23,648 – England vs France University of Bolton Stadium
6,829 – New Zealand vs Jamaica MKM Stadium
6,057 – Ireland vs Lebanon Leigh Sports Village
4,412 – Samoa vs Greece Eco-Power Stadium
7,752 – Tonga vs Wales Totally Wicked Stadium
6,752 – Papua New Guinea vs Cook Islands Halliwell Jones Stadium
Round 3:
14,044 – New Zealand vs Ireland Headingley Stadium
18,760 – England vs Greece Bramall Lane
6,736 – Fiji vs Scotland Kingston Park
5,586 – Australia vs Italy Totally Wicked Stadium
5,006 – Lebanon vs Jamaica Leigh Sports Village
8,342 – Tonga vs Cook Islands Riverside Stadium
6,756 – Samoa vs France Halliwell Jones Stadium
6,968 – Papua New Guinea vs Wales Eco-Power Stadium