It is no secret that, over the last few years, rugby union has been struggling with financial instability and lack of exposure.
Last year, the English Rugby Football Union’s end-of-year financial report showed an operating loss of £37.9 million. Not only is the national set-up losing money, but individual clubs are struggling too. Three Gallagher Premiership sides have gone into administration in the last few years, with Worcester Warriors, London Wasps and London Irish all folding.
Such financial failures paired with growing anxiety around the future of the sport, means it is important to look at what can be done to aid rugby union’s growth going forward.
With marketing being a huge reason why a business may succeed or fail, looking at what needs to improve with regard rugby’s strategy is key to growing the sport we love.
English rugby specifically is struggling with its inability to make playing rugby in England attractive enough to the “stars” of the sport.
Chairman of the Eastern Counties RFU, Roger Pierson, believes clubs are struggling to keep their top talent. “They’re paying players far more than they can afford,” he said. “But it’s that kind of risk it issue. If we don’t pay them top dollar, will they go?”
In previous years, huge English stars like Owen Farrell, Henry Arundell and Courtney Lawes have all moved to clubs abroad to play their rugby, due to the pay discrepancies.
In the Gallagher Premiership, the average salary is £171,187, whereas in the Top 14, Frances top division, the average salary reaches £200,000.
Beyond England, various countries have tried to increase the sport’s profile to boost interest.
After hosting the 2019 World Cup, Japan saw an increase of 1.18 million people taking part in the sport. The profile of the sport in Japan exploded, with Japan becoming rugby’s biggest broadcast market.
Pierson said: “Japan is trying to increase the profile of rugby, so they’ll pay top dollar. Most of their clubs are subsidised by businesses”.
So why can’t England do the same?
Problems with making the sport an attractive product to investors and fans have meant attendances and TV revenue have been hard to maintain. But there is hope for English rugby, which comes in the form of… an American?
TikTok superstar and American Rugby Sevens player Ilona Maher will make a monumental switch to British rugby union when she starts a three-month contract with Bristol Bears in January. With 4.7 million Instagram followers, she is the most popular rugby player in the world and her move to Bristol is widely considered instrumental to the sports success in the coming years.
Her first game against Gloucester earlier this month saw the fixture moved from 200-seat Shaftsbury Park to 27,000 capacity Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City Football Club, due to the “unprecedented demand” for tickets.
Ben Jermy, marketing manager for Stats Perform, said: “I think her introduction to the sport has been massive for not only women’s rugby but the visibility of the sport in general.
“The fact she’s so popular online means that rugby should try and play into that and grow the sport on platforms like TikTok also”.
Ilona has spoken in the past about how rugby players need to market themselves outside of the sport as the clubs or the league won’t do it for them.#
And indeed, in the past few years, we’ve seen plenty of other players trying to build a brand outside of rugby and show off their personality in the media more: Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, for instanbe, have a podcast together.
Jermy said: “In order to market the sport better I would focus on creating more viewer-friendly competitions in rugby, to attract more casual viewers to the sport. We’ve seen it with the T20 in cricket, and this new competition coming in 2026 will hopefully create that same atmosphere and buzz.
The competition in question is a new “F1-style” of competition, with teams competing in a 14-week schedule in a new city each week, leaning into a festival atmosphere and showcasing the best talent the sport has to offer.
While nothing concrete has been set in place yet, many believe this competition could be an exciting new offering for new fans of the sport.
The Guinness Six Nations has also recently attempted to improve its appeal.
The annual competition – featuring England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Ital – recently announced a set of new logos, aimed at “recharging” the brand and making rugby more appealing to a younger audience.
On the re-brand, Ben said: “They’re clearly trying everything they can to make the competition a bit more attractive. It’s not been popular, but I would compare it to the Jaguar rebrand. All press is good press in my eyes”.
Either way, it seems clear that rugby needs to come into the modern era and revolutionise their marketing model. For rugby to survive, it surely needs to adapt.
