Global league: NRL, Super League crowd records smashed

Rugby league's global appeal continues to grow after more than 300,000 fans attended NRL and Super League matches in the code's biggest weekend for crowds. 

Headlined by the largest crowd for a standalone regular season fixture of 65,305 at Accor Stadium for Friday's Bulldogs-Rabbitohs clash, Round 7 of the NRL was the most attended round of matches in premiership history.

The attendance records in the NRL came on the same weekend that Super League attracted the highest aggregate crowds for a round of matches since the European competition switched to summer in 1996.

The two competitions attracted a combined total of 304,913 fans, with:

• NRL Round 7 crowds totalling 218,833 (average 27,354), and;
• Super League Round 8 crowds totalling 86,080 (average 14,347) 

The record attendances come ahead of anticipated sell-out of Friday's ANZAC Day clashes in Sydney, Melbourne and Christchurch, and next week's Magic Round in Brisbane.     

The end-of-season Ashes series between Australia and England is also set to surpass the 1994 series as the most watched in the UK, with the second and third Tests at Liverpool and Leeds already sold out.

The unprecedented interest in the game follows record crowds for NRL matches last year, with the 2024 Telstra Premiership being the most attended season since the game began in Australia in 1908.

A total of 3.9m fans attended matches in the 2024 NRL regular season and with the inclusion of finals, State of Origin, Pacific Championships and the NRLW, overall crowds exceeded 4.79m.  

In New Zealand, the Warriors became the first team in the history of the game to sell out every home match in a season. 

So far this season, 1.122m fans have attended matches, including 45,209 for the March 1 quadruple header at Allegiant Stadium, which featured NRL and Super League premiership fixtures at the same venue for the first time.