The RFU Championship reached new attendance heights last weekend, with three bumper records achieved across the latest round of action. This is a certain sign of strength for the English second division, after the Championship suffered the loss of Jersey Reds’ financial collapse earlier this season.
The accomplishments also come at a prominent time for the RFU Championship, after the clubs endured a ‘war of words’ with RFU CEO Bill Sweeny. The Championship clubs fired back at Sweeny’s comments on the league’s commercial viability, and shared their grievances on how the league should be run. The recent attendance records show a strong growth in the Championship’s footfall, with the ambitions of carrying this momentum into the New Year.
Coventry set a new attendance record at the Butts Park Arena, with 5,047 fans witnessing the epic 37-21 win over Nottingham. Coventry shared their attendance record with the tagline “Are you watching Bill Sweeny?”, and added an ironic “It’s a real shame the Championship just doesn’t deliver”, to the final score twitter post.
Ampthill also recorded their highest ever match day attendance, as 2,837 fans witnessed the ‘Battle of Bedfordshire’ against Bedford Blues. Ampthill were on the losing side of the 22-31 score-line, yet took great pride in getting a record number of fans through the turnstiles for the derby match. Cornish Pirates also witnessed their biggest crowd since 2019, with 2,747 fans packing into Mennaye Field with a 14-7 win over Hartpury.