Leinster shed 5,700 fans per match as Bordeaux-Bègles dominate European attendance figures

Bordeaux-Bègles have emerged as European club rugby’s best-supported side, averaging 34,578 fans per home league game this season — a five per cent rise year-on-year — according to an extensive attendance study by The Rugby Paper covering all 40 clubs across the Top 14, United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership.

The back-to-back Investec Champions Cup winners are one of only six clubs across the three competitions to average more than 20,000 per match. The Stormers rank second on that list with 26,153, ahead of Toulouse (21,836), Bristol (21,347), Leinster (20,789) and Harlequins (20,423), the latter boosted by their Big Game fixture at Allianz Stadium.

The sharpest decline belongs to Leinster, who lost an average of 5,737 spectators per match compared to the previous season. The Irish province have been playing home fixtures at the Aviva Stadium while the RDS remains unavailable, and the cavernous 51,000-seat venue has underlined the drop-off. Their Champions Cup knockout run drew 21,491 for the Round of 16 tie against Edinburgh, 18,839 for the quarter-final against Bristol, and 38,555 for the semi-final against Toulon — a cumulative total more than 40,000 below the equivalent figure from 12 months earlier. Report author Peter Jackson posed the question directly: “Have Leinster fans lost interest?”

Harlequins, whose domestic campaign disappointed, recorded the second-largest decline at 3,378 per game. URC finalists the Bulls also struggled, shedding 2,004 fans per match, with the Sharks down 2,050.

On the positive side, the Stormers posted the biggest season-on-season increase, adding 3,269 per game. Montpellier were second with a gain of 3,002. Newcastle’s Red Bull takeover has produced an almost immediate commercial effect, with the club improving their average Premiership attendance by 2,424 despite a difficult season on the pitch.