Staggering stats show why international rugby league is ‘on the rise again’

The 2024 autumn international rugby league window is now over, and it brought large success on a global scale and now there are the stats to prove that.

The England v Samoa tests attracted good viewing figures, as well as the women’s Test against Wales, as BBC One and BBC Two broadcast the games to the nation. X account Rugby League on TV reported that a peak of 360,000 watched the women’s Test whilst 844,000 saw the men do battle.

That men’s Test also provided vengeance for 2022 heartbreak, in the semi-final of the World Cup.

The feelgood factor around international rugby league isn’t just limited to the Northern hemisphere with Australia head coach Mal Meninga recently telling NRL.com: “Every time you go into an international game at the moment, I feel that the opposition are a chance of winning so international rugby league is in a really good state.”

This is clear to see in the Southern Hemisphere – with New Zealand having to play a decider to avoid being relegated to the second tier of the Pacific Championships despite being the champions just last year.

Staggering stats show why international rugby league is on the rise again

The success was also backed up by statistics – shared via NRL.com, who revealed some of the terrific numbers.

The site shared that the 2024 Pacific Championships delivered “record-breaking attendance and viewership” with a total audience of over six million, which marked an impressive 40% year-on-year increase.

In addition, the Pacific Cup final between Australia and Tonga had a million viewers – a 79% increase on the 2023 edition between Australia and New Zealand.

As well as this, the Australia vs New Zealand Test in Christchurch attracted nearly a million views across all platforms, despite not being a decider.

In addition, the crowd of 28,728 for the final of the Championships was the biggest for a Test in Sydney since 2008, showing that it’s not just TV audiences that are interested: people are interested enough to be going to the games in person also.

Meanwhile, the average viewership for men’s Pacific Bowl matches rose by 35%, showing a real appetite for rugby league played by the likes of Papua New Guinea and Fiji.