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Football is the most popular sport in england...

[INDENT]Q:in england,if the popularity index of football is 10, what about rugby union and cricket?












Rugby 3
Cricket 2

The average bloke couldnt name
Rugby I would say is 4/5.

Cricket, 5/6 maybe.

Rugby is big in some parts of the south and them scally northern places like Wigan and Hull but I honestly don't know a single rugby fan in the Midlands. Never met one. Nobody in my school was into it, never known anyone to really care about it other than for about 5 minutes when Johnny Wilkinson won us the WC.

Cricket is very popular among the Asian communities but not so much among everyone else (here) so that's why I have it as more popular than rugby. It's somewhat popular all round the country whereas I don't think rugby is.

EDIT: Yeah actually it's more like 2/3 for both in comparison to football, think I was being too generous.
Reply 3
Original post by longasuo

[INDENT]Q:in england,if the popularity index of football is 10, what about rugby union and cricket?














Whole of England:
Rugby: 5/6
Cricket: 2/3

My area:
Rugby: 7/8
Cricket: 1

Posted from TSR Mobile
I'd say rugby is infinitely more popular than cricket. Most people don't give a **** about cricket unless the Ashes are on.
^ In Doncaster and Bradford maybe.
Reply 6
Original post by Wilfred Little
Rugby I would say is 4/5.

Cricket, 5/6 maybe.

Rugby is big in some parts of the south and them scally northern places like Wigan and Hull but I honestly don't know a single rugby fan in the Midlands. Never met one. Nobody in my school was into it, never known anyone to really care about it other than for about 5 minutes when Johnny Wilkinson won us the WC.

Cricket is very popular among the Asian communities but not so much among everyone else (here) so that's why I have it as more popular than rugby. It's somewhat popular all round the country whereas I don't think rugby is.

EDIT: Yeah actually it's more like 2/3 for both in comparison to football, think I was being too generous.


Leicester and Northampton have two of the best Union sides in the country, and Gloucester are pretty big too. Oh and Wasps are about to move up to Coventry. I think there is a decent Midlands fanbase for Rugby Union. North of Birmingham and it's almost exclusively Rugby League, with Sale/Newcastle's decent Union sides as rare exceptions. But League is a lot smaller than Union, in terms of mainstream coverage anyway. League didn't seem to take off even with a World Cup in this country last year.

The thing with Rugby is you've got two different sports with often completely different audiences, so you can't really lump them in together. OP asked for Union so if Footballs at 10 I'll give Rugby Union and Cricket a 3 (League would be at 1).

Biggest difference is that Football maintains interest all year round, while Union/Cricket only get comparable interest during limited international seasons.
Original post by Louis.
Leicester and Northampton have two of the best Union sides in the country, and Gloucester are pretty big too. Oh and Wasps are about to move up to Coventry. I think there is a decent Midlands fanbase for Rugby Union. North of Birmingham and it's almost exclusively Rugby League, with Sale/Newcastle's decent Union sides as rare exceptions. But League is a lot smaller than Union, in terms of mainstream coverage anyway. League didn't seem to take off even with a World Cup in this country last year.

The thing with Rugby is you've got two different sports with often completely different audiences, so you can't really lump them in together. OP asked for Union so if Footballs at 10 I'll give Rugby Union and Cricket a 3 (League would be at 1).

Biggest difference is that Football maintains interest all year round, while Union/Cricket only get comparable interest during limited international seasons.


I know there are clubs here, there is one in Birmingham, but I don't know any people here who give a **** about it. I have just remembered actually, I've known two people in my life who were rugby fans, both school teachers and one was from Blackburn, the other from Barnsley.

The impression I've got of egg chasing (wouldn't know the difference between League and Union tbh) is that it's massively popular up north, and some parts of the south.
I'm from London, went to a pretty posh grammar school and even at that there were about 10 fellas in my year who could speak intelligently about rugby. We all watched the 6 nations and the world cup of course but club rugby just wasnt on the agenda. Remember once Saracens offered free tickets for anyone who fancied going to one of their games, and I think about 20 people ended up taking up the offer...

Rugby is a sport for private school toffs in the South basically, people who want to differentiate themselves from the plebs.

Cricket, literally nobody watched this apart from the ashes. Ive always thought Cricket was a game played almost exclusively in little villages by nice little upper middle class boys who looked like extras from Mary Poppins.

A mate of mine who I once interned with for a few months, invited me and a few others down to his gaff in Buckinghamshire. Guy went to Eton and was was a good bloke tbf, but he was playing cricket on the village green one morning and I was just standing there drinking a pink of lager in the club-house trying to think of something interesting to say to these kunts other than ''see the Arsenal at the weekend, did ya?''

Different worlds. Then again Ive always felt a bit uncomfortable in these posh little villages, have literally no family outside the immediate London area so I dont get these people really.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 9
Rugby Union is pretty popular in some regions, like the South West. A lot of people watch the 6 nations, summer and autumn internationals and the World Cup. Within my friend group only three of us are actually interested in it. The domestic side of it attracts a lot less interest than the international side of it. Rugby League is popular in the North, but is the opposite to Rugby union with the primary focus being on the domestic side of the sport instead of internationals. Where I live in Lancashire, surprisingly Rugby union is more popular than Rugby league.

Cricket is primarily focused on the international side. The only time most people care about it is if we are winning the Ashes. County cricket is only really popular with die hard supporters, most kids are more likely to end up watching the Indian Twenty20 league on ITV 4 than county cricket. Cricket is pretty popular where I live, bit surprising for a working class area, and we have 3 sides of varying quality.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Zürich
Cricket, literally nobody watched this apart from the ashes. Ive always thought Cricket was a game played almost exclusively in little villages by nice little upper middle class boys who looked like extras from Mary Poppins.


Very popular with the people up here. As I said, predominantly Asian lads, used to play indoor cricket with a few. I remember in college once, India were playing Pakistan and these lads were hooked to updates like you or I would be if our teams were in a cup final or something.
Original post by Wilfred Little
Very popular with the people up here. As I said, predominantly Asian lads, used to play indoor cricket with a few. I remember in college once, India were playing Pakistan and these lads were hooked to updates like you or I would be if our teams were in a cup final or something.


This is true. But do these guys also follow county cricket? Didnt think they really were interested on a week to week basis in that. Most of the guys I see at Lords are middle class, 40 year old fat fellas from everywhere in the South except London...

Asians do take it seriously though. Remember once trying to make conversation with the local Pakistani shopkeeper with a bit of banter when Ireland beat them. The relationship has been strained since...
(edited 9 years ago)
Vast majority of rugby "fans" only pay attention during the 6 nations. Similar situation with cricket, although more follow the game in depth than in rugby.

If you're comparing popularity to football then both are less than 1.
Original post by Zürich
This is true. But do these guys also follow county cricket? Didnt think they really were interested on a week to week basis in that.


Na, I just remember them going particularly mad for India and Pakistan.

Most of the guys I see at Lords are middle class, 40 year old fat fellas from everywhere in the South except London...


Having seen a match at Edgbaston once I'd say that summary of the make up of the crowd is pretty accurate.

Asians do take it seriously though. Remember once trying to make conversation with the local Pakistani shopkeeper with a bit of banter when Ireland beat them. The relationship has been strained since...


:laugh:
Reply 14
Rugby union is popular - but international rugby is infinitely more entertaining than club rugby. Hence, Six Nations/Autumn Internationals/World Cups get a lot of interest...but I don't personally know any die-hard Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers fans.

Rugby league is more prone to die-hard passionate followings I think.
Original post by Wilfred Little
The impression I've got of egg chasing (wouldn't know the difference between League and Union tbh) is that it's massively popular up north, and some parts of the south.


League is a Northern game whereas Union is a Southern game. Of the 12 clubs in Super League next season, 6 are from Yorkshire and 5 are from Merseyside/Greater Manchester, with the other team playing in France. Whereas in the Premiership you've only got 2 teams (Sale and Newcastle) north of Birmingham, everyone else is East Midlands, South West or near London.

Since I first moved down south i've only ever met 1 person who had any clue about Super League, and they're from Yorkshire. If I moved back up north I doubt i'd find too many people who have much knowledge of Premiership rugby.
Reply 16
Super League > Premiership rugby imo.
Relative to football.
Rugby - 3/10
Cricket - 3/10
Before uni, I didn't know anyone into Rugby Union, League yes as we played it but Union wasn't big where I was from.

University, and union is incredibly big, and I know loads of people who are into it
\union is fairly big in Northampton. Even before the Saints had their current success (We dropped into second division a few years back) you won't walk around town and see blokes without old tattered saints shirts on.

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