Why Rugby League Thrives in Australia — and Struggles to Match Union in England

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England and Australia are two of the world’s biggest nations when it comes to rugby.

However, each has its preferred code, making the rugby scene very different. In England, the birthplace of both sports, rugby union is the leading format, whereas in Australia, rugby league commands the larger share of attention.

But just how big is the gulf between the two sports in each country, and why?

Professionalism and Growth

To understand why there is such a difference in popularity between the two codes in England versus Australia, it is important to understand a brief history of the sports.

In 1895, the sport of rugby split into two amidst internal disagreements over player payments.

One side of the argument was that rugby should be played for nothing more than the sake of the game, and fears arose that players being paid would interfere with this aspect of the sport and open it up to corruption.

On the other hand, many players, particularly the working-class, would be deterred from playing as it would mean they missed out on valued working hours. This led to ‘broken time’ payments being issued, which compensated players with money they would otherwise earn at work.

As a result, rugby league was created as the professional version of the sport, while the original, amateur version adopted the name of rugby union.

In the north of England, where there was a higher working-class population, league gained popularity. The south, which contained many of the nation’s public schools, stuck to rugby union, and it remains the bigger sport in the country.

The traditional code is now more culturally ingrained, and, amidst an influx of money to the sport after the successful 1995 Men’s Rugby World Cup, turned professional the same year.

When union was introduced to Australia however, it did not become as widespread. 

Instead, there was a large working-class population attracted to rugby league in the early 1900s due to its professionalism, bringing larger numbers of players to the sport.

At the same time, Australia’s labour movement saw a push by blue-collar workers to improve pay and working conditions—a period linked to the rise of rugby league.

The professionalism of the game, therefore, gave rise to its growth in Australia. Player payments meant clubs needed to make money, so rule changes to make the game more attractive to spectators were introduced. 

Play-the-balls meant the game had a quicker pace and relied less on scrums, and the eventual introduction of the four (now six) tackle set meant possession frequently changed hands—both making the game more watchable.

Some of the ticket revenue was then used to pay the players, while the rest was put back into the game, growing it further. 

Union, on the other hand, did not have this opportunity, and was largely confined to smaller, upper-class areas, reducing its demographic and hindering its growth. 

Today, the ability of league to market itself to a wider audience in Australia is portrayed through its availability on free-to-air (FTA) television. The NRL in Australia is widely accessible on FTA channels, helping it become the nation’s most-watched sport. 

League vs Union: What Do the Numbers Say?

Beginning with club rugby, league is a more dominant domestic sport in Australia than union is in England.

In 2025, the NRL Grand Final drew 4.46 million fans to watch Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm, whereas the final of the region’s leading club rugby union competition, Super Rugby, got 645,000.

The same year saw 973,000 watch the Premiership Rugby final, England’s largest club rugby union competition. Meanwhile the Super League—the highest level of English rugby league—attracted the least of the four at 455,000. 

Live attendances showed the same trend, with the 2025 season seeing NRL boasting an average turnout of 21,000 per game, while England’s Super League had the lowest with around 10,000.

In the international game, union remains the world’s favourite code.

As the most popular of the two codes in nations such as South Africa, Japan, and Argentina, the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand had 94 million global viewing hours, as well as increasing viewership in countries new to rugby such as the US and Germany.

This expansion translates to that of the game overall—the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup will be the first to involve 24 teams, and has been the reason why some players including Australia’s Angus Crichton and Mark Nawaqanitawase have committed to switch codes.

Ultimately, the battle between rugby league and rugby union in both countries reflects the history of class division and structural differences in the two sports. In England, rugby league remains popular in the north, while union is ingrained in the south. Australia follows similar principles, where union is played in public schools and league remains a working class game.

A reason behind rugby union’s switch to professionalism is a prominent theme in the modern sport landscape—the rise of commercialisation.

To understand more about the commercialisation, governance, and business strategy behind the sports industry, view our course offerings. 

Article by Zakaria Anani