CROWD numbers in French rugby’s top two professional leagues have risen to record levels, according to figures released from the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
The average crowd size for a Top 14 match over the first eight weekends of the season was 15,419 – up from 15,252 across the whole of the previous season, and 12 per cent higher than the same period in the 2023/24 campaign. Obviously, it’s relatively early in the campaign. The sample size is less than a third of the whole of last season, but the signs are positive.
Bordeaux, Toulouse, Bayonne, La Rochelle...