Could rugby union be Australia’s national sport?

With the 2023 Rugby World Cup well under way in France, we take a look at how close rugby union is to being Australia’s national sport.

Eddie Jones’ team are strong favourites to progress into the knockout stage through Pool C, despite defeat at the hands of Fiji in the second round of group stage matches.

The Australian fans back home are still as hopeful and supportive as ever, battling time zones as well as the strongest teams in the world.

Historically, the Wallabies have been at every Rugby World Cup, winning the tournament twice in 1991 and 1999.

And with rugby being one of the nation’s most favourite pastimes, can it be named as Australia’s national sport?

The country’s national sport is officially cricket, which was one of the first sports played in Australia, not long before rugby started being played, reportedly as far back as the 1820s.

In terms of attendance, the most watched sport in Australia by far is Australian Rules Football, with over 7million in attendance in 2022. The sport is very popular in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Meanwhile, rugby league and union have been shown to be more popular in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.

Rugby league, however, has almost double the number of spectators in Australia as cricket, but only around half the number of Australian Rules Football.

Rugby union is far lower on the attendance numbers in Australia, barely making the top ten most watched sports, sitting behind motor sports and horse racing.

But the sport remains very much loved among its very passionate audience across Australia, with an A$100million deal being signed for the broadcasting rights of rugby union games in 2021.

As popular as it is however, it remains far behind cricket, with 59 per cent of the country’s population having an interest in it, far ahead of any other sport.

It is also extremely popular nationwide, unlike the divide between Australian Rules Football and Rugby Union/League.

This goes further, with a study finding that at more than 93 per cent of Aussies watch at least some cricket each year.

The 2015 Cricket World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand was the most watched sporting event in Australian history, with over 4million people tuning in to the match being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Even though rugby union sits far behind cricket in terms of being named the national sport of Australia, both industries are rapidly growing, not only in Oceania, but worldwide too.

If you’re keen on working in the Australian sports industry, take a look at the wide array of postgraduate degree courses on offer at Global Institute of Sport’s Melbourne Campus, based at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Additionally, take a look at some more of our campuses and global hubs in North America and Europe, including our iconic Wembley Campus in London.

Click here to view the new GIS prospectus, and see where a degree could take you and your sports industry career.