With an average point differential between the teams of just six points, last week saw the closest quarter final round in the history of the World Cup, and arguably the greatest weekend of rugby of all time.
It was also the best watched quarter final round the Rugby World Cup has ever had. In a media briefing on Wednesday, tournament director Michel Possau and chairman of France 2023, Jacques Rival, gave a run down of the tournament is going in terms of engagement with fans.
In their opening statement they said:
After 44 matches, and four compelling quarter-finals, four teams remain in contention to lift the Webb Ellis Cup here in Paris in just over a week's time.While there is inevitably elation and disappointment with knock-out rugby, I don't think I can remember four quarter-finals of such quality, intensity, suspense and drama. Indeed, many of you reported that it was the greatest weekend of rugby ever. This was certainly reflected in a record weekend for the sport.
Ireland rugby TV viewership
The Ireland v New Zealand game broke a few viewership records. It was the biggest broadcast in the history of Virgin Media/TV3, with 1.3m viewers.
In France, a staggering 9.4 million people tuned in for Ireland's quarter final. This is an unprecedented figure and the largest audience in France for a rugby match that didn't feature the host nation.
For France v South Africa, TV audiences also reached record levels in the host country. On TF1, 16.5 million people watched the game, a French rugby record.
Expectations
The crowds at this tournament have been phenomenal. The atmosphere in some of the biggest games has been unlike any in the history of the sport.
Cette vidéo est la plus belle manière de promouvoir le rugby. 🏉
Zombie des Cranberries repris par les supporters irlandais donne carrément la chaire de poule. #Ireland pic.twitter.com/yc2DeNup8t— Ghilès SAHNOUN (@ghiless) September 24, 2023
Attendances at this World Cup have reached the second highest in Rugby World Cup history, with four matches still to go in Paris.
One of the biggest successes of the tournament has been the crowds for games featuring so called "Tier 2" nations. 47,000 piled in to Lyon's home stadium for Namibia v Uruguay. There has been an average of 50,000 in the stadiums across the tournament which is unrivaled by any other World Cup.
Social Media
Social Media has been a main priority for World Rugby in their marketing of this tournament with their Twitter, TikTok and YouTube channel all producing enormous amounts of content. This has paid dividends with this past weekend producing the most mentions of rugby union ever, across all social media. There were also more than 240 million video views for Rugby World Cup content, 194% higher than the 2019 quarter finals. TikTok generated more than half of the views, in the eyes of World Rugby this is vital as in their words, "meaning Rugby World Cup is inspiring a younger audience."
Rugby World Cup social channels have garnered 2.1 million new followers since the tournament began from across 50 nations.
