The latest Guinness Premiership Fan Survey has shown that the Guinness Premiership is recognised as providing excellent value for money.
When asked 'Which of the following tournaments do you associate with value for money?', 87% of the 12,000 plus respondents named the Guinness Premiership, well ahead of other rugby competitions and ahead of other similar sports.
The survey is the fourth conducted by Premier Rugby and takes place every two seasons. The field work was carried out from mid-October to the first week in November by way of an online questionnaire. Respondents were targeted through club ezines and by click through from stories on the Guinness Premiership website. Every club was well represented, but responses were weighted based on attendances.
The reason supporters gave for coming to matches was overwhelmingly the matchday atmosphere. When asked to define what this meant, the answer was clear; the camaraderie amongst rival fans, the friendliness of the club and the noise and colour within the ground. As the demographics show, Guinness Premiership matches are great family entertainment with most supporters choosing to come to matches with their children.
On field statistics show that the Guinness Premiership can still lay claim to being the most competitive league in the world, with 48% of matches finishing within seven points, leaving the result in doubt until the final whistle*. Guinness Premiership matches also produce more points per match than any of the major European leagues, meaning rugby fans in England get more points for their pound than in any rugby competition or comparable top flight sport.
On the pitch, supporters considered the quality of play in the Guinness Premiership to have improved in the two years since the last survey.
43% of supporters felt rugby in the Guinness Premiership was 'excellent' compared with 28% two seasons ago, with another 51% rating the rugby played as 'good'.
Speaking at the launch of the initial findings, Premier Rugby Chief Executive Mark McCafferty said, "The results of this fourth fan survey as always make very interesting reading. What seems clear is that our supporters view a Guinness Premiership match as a good, fun day out for all the family, with the friendly, inclusive atmosphere we have long associated with rugby. The fact that our supporters recognise that Guinness Premiership matches are also good, value for money, family entertainment is great news in what is a very tough market."
"As always, we are very grateful to all the supporters who took part in the survey. More than ever we need their views on how we can grow, develop and improve in all areas of our business."
In addition to the main report, clubs will now receive their own reports where they have had the opportunity to insert questions relevant to them and their supporters.
The survey is the biggest of its kind in club rugby. Over 12,000 supporters completed the survey, conducted for the third successive time by Sportswise, an independent specialist market research agency who have worked with the RFU, Premier League, Football League and Rugby Football League amongst others.
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Notes to editors
* - in addition, the average winning margin for all matches is under ten points, closer than both the Top 14 and Magners League.
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