Women’s Rugby World Cup Achieves Record-Breaking Figures On Day 1
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 is off to a flying start and a compelling opening day of action in Dublin has proven popular in stadia and in the social sphere, with previous tournament records tumbling along the way.
With full and vibrant venues, the opening day showcased the world-renowned warm Irish welcome as teams and fans mixed within the busy fan-zone at UCD throughout the day.
In conversation, the tournament is shattering previous tournament social media records with new benchmarks being set in online video views, social media engagement rates and use of the #WRWC2017 and #BringIt hashtags.
– 4.4m video views of #WRWC2017 content across @WorldRugby social and digital channels with women aged 25-34 the biggest consumers
– #WRWC2017 trending in the UK and Ireland during the matches with 3,800 uses
– Male/female audience split 53% to 47% on @WorldRugby platforms, demonstrating significant event appeal
– USA (16%) was the second most-engaged audience behind hosts Ireland (30%)
– Fans from 196 countries and territories visited the www.rwcwomens.com official website with a traffic increase of 550% on WRWC 2014
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont, who was in attendance throughout the day, said: “The opening day showcased the very best of Women’s rugby. World class players and superb matches, culminating with an intense and thrilling Test between hosts Ireland and Australia, full stadia, passionate fans, outstanding volunteers and a wonderful family atmosphere.
“I am sure that the momentum will build and, judging by the sheer volume of social media chatter, the exploits of the leading women’s players are already inspiring new fans around the world.”
Meanwhile, in terms of TV viewership, an average of 191,300 – 17.45% of the available audience watched Ireland’s thrilling 19-17 win over Australia on RTE Two, with a peak of 322,300. French channel, France 4, had a peak of 829,000 viewers – and an average of 673,000 – for les Bleus’ landslide victory over Japan at Billings Park on the same night.
The WRWC 2017 pool stages are sold out but a ticket exchange scheme is in operation at UCD, visit www.rwcwomens.com/tickets for more details. Some tickets are still available for the semi-final and finals days in Belfast on August 22 and 26.