Is rugby now the most popular sport in Ireland?

Is rugby now a way of life?

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, centre, sits alongside captain Jonathan Sexton, and forwards coach Paul O'Connell as they sit for an official squad photograph before their rugby open training session at Stade Vallée du Cher in Tours, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

This is officially Rugby Country, according to a new survey carried out by Energia, the IRFU's 'energy partner'.

The survey, which canvassed 1,008 Energia customers in July concludes that rugby is "the country's number one sport", with 31% of respondents claiming it is their "favourite sport".

That compares with soccer (27%), gaelic football (23%), and hurling/camogie (19%).

Of those surveyed, 74% believe Ireland will go further than ever before and reach at least the semi-finals of the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Though just 61% say they will be watching. While 44% believe Ireland will win the competition.

The findings show, Energia's Head of Digital Ross O’Mullane suggests, that: “in a country where rugby has grown massively in popularity during recent years, it’s become not just a sport but a way of life."

The results also suggest something of a sporting generation gap emerging between energy bill payers and the nation's youth, or perhaps this way of life may not always extend to participation or spectating. 

Sport Ireland's Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity Study 2022, published last week, reported soccer (56%) as the top participation sport among primary school boys, followed by Gaelic football (47%), hurling (37%), swimming (36%) and rugby (25%).

For girls, most popular are swimming (45%), Gaelic football (43%), camogie (40%), dance (32%) and athletics (29%).

In post-primary schools, soccer (41%), Gaelic football (38%), hurling (26%), swimming (26%) and weight training (25%) were reported as the five most popular community sports/activities for boys; while swimming (34%), Gaelic football (33%), dance (25%), camogie (22%) and cycling (20%) are the five most popular activities for girls.

The Sport Ireland survey also canvassed how many students had attended a match as a spectator or supporter in the last 12 months.

The top five sports were Gaelic football (35%), soccer (35%), basketball (25%), hurling (24%) and rugby (22%).