Rugby closes on GAA as soccer still most popular sport

It may have been a bad weekend just gone for the provinces in Europe, but rugby’s growing popularity amongst sports fans in Ireland is clear from the latest Sports Sentiment Index, released yesterday by PSG Sponsorship.

Long regarded as the little brother among the ‘Big Three’ sporting organisations, it seems as if rugby is poised to overtake Gaelic games as the second-most popular sport in Ireland, with soccer top of the tree as the game with the widest appeal.

A survey of 1,000 people found that 16% of people regard rugby as their favourite sport, as opposed to 17% for Gaelic games which encompasses Gaelic football, hurling, ladies football and camogie.