SPORTS SURVEY: MICHAEL O'KEEFFEon how rugby has surpassed other sports in the public's affections
RUGBY HAS firmly taken hold of the Irish public. This is the clear result of the analysis of attitudes to Irish sport conducted by Pembroke Communications.
The recent successes of the international rugby team and the provinces has propelled rugby from what was perceived as a minority and somewhat elitist sport into the mainstream.
In what may be construed as a worrying trend for those who govern soccer and GAA, rugby topped all the survey findings for the greatest achievement, most iconic sporting moment and greatest sports star of 2009.
The big question is whether the enormous popularity of rugby can be solely attributed to this golden era incorporating the Grand Slam and Heineken Cup successes of 2009 on top of the glories of the last few years. Has there been a sea change in Irish public’s sporting affections?
Irish rugby is currently blessed with outstanding sportsmen like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, who have both captained the Lions. Neither courts controversy and both have impeccable public personas which underpin their popularity.
Rugby has been superbly marketed at international level. Munster and Leinster have developed a mass following and a “brand identity” through concerted marketing campaigns. Ulster are not far behind. Rugby at provincial level is organized, marketed and played by professionals. This makes a huge difference.
O’Driscoll and O’Connell are seen as national heroes rather than local ones and have proved to be among the best in the world. In contrast, the GAA is built on local rivalries and GAA stars do not seem to fully transcend county boundaries.
No GAA player made the top-five list of Irish sports stars, with Colm Cooper, Joe Canning, Tadgh Kennelly and Henry Shefflin all receiving five per cent or less of the votes. These results seem to indicate that GAA players do not command national appeal and, perhaps, that their achievements in hurling and football are not seen as being as significant as those achieved on international playing fields.
GAA stars are reliant on progressing through the precarious knockout format of the championship and their fame may be more transient as well as localised. In addition, Kerry and Kilkenny All-Ireland wins hardly capture the imagination like a Clare hurling success or a football breakthrough win such as Donegal in 1992.
Irish soccer stars do not feature too highly either, with only Shay Given having wide appeal, although the Irish soccer team’s unbeaten progress to the qualifiers was acknowledged as an outstanding achievement. Given, like O’Connell, O’Driscoll and Pádraig Harrington, is a mature and respected proven performer who has delivered time and again on the international stage.
However, it does appear that soccer players are more alien to the general public. As they do not play professionally here or live in the country, they may not have the same resonance that their rugby counterparts have.
Most pointedly, Ireland have not qualified for a major tournament since 2002 and no longer have a Roy Keane-type superstar on the Champions League stage for one of the world’s biggest clubs.
Only one Irish player, John O’Shea, was in line to play in the Champions League last week, while Saturday’s World Cup qualifier opponents France, had nearly 20 players available. O’Shea and Darron Gibson are currently the only Irish senior players in the squads of any of the big four teams in the Premier League. The influx of overseas players post-Bosman has diluted the Irish influence in the Premier League. Qualification for South Africa would probably alter public perceptions.
Rugby’s massive popularity is unquestionably the big story of this research but Gaelic games and soccer remain enormously popular.
Soccer is the nation’s favourite sport with 25.4 per cent of the population choosing it as their number one. The power of the Premier League and Champions League and pay-per-view hype has its desired effect even without massive Irish influence.
Gaelic football is third behind rugby (23.2 per cent) with 21.8 per cent, but when you add those who chose hurling (9.2 per cent) as their favourite sport, the GAA remains top of our affections at 31 per cent. With 125 years of history and a base in every corner of the country, the GAA remains part and parcel of our lives. An average television audience of 683,000 watched this year’s All-Ireland hurling final while an average 629,000 watched the football.
From a sponsorship perspective, rugby is in a privileged position. Sponsors will look for successful sides and the popularity of the national team and the provincial sides is attracting interest, as the 866,000 average television audience for the Wales rugby match in Cardiff would suggest.
People respect and admire our rugby stars and brands will fall over themselves to gain association. This is not to say that the GAA or FAI will suffer. In fact, the GAA has most of the high profile big brands as sponsors already and the FAI has managed to keep hold of Eircom and is attracting second-tier partners.
The next two years will be very interesting. The shining Aviva Stadium will give rugby and soccer a spanking new home. This will further increase the popularity of both sports, similar to the GAA’s Croke Park factor during the 1990s and the early part of this decade.
Rugby is the current darling, but different sports will rise and fall in popularity over time and results will determine affection. With almost 80 per cent of those surveyed “interested in sport”, sport’s popularity has never been higher, whatever the flavour of the month.
Michael O’Keeffe is director of Pembroke Communications.
