With the timing of George Furbank on to a Fin Smith cutout pass, or that of any of the myriad attacking talents in English club rugby, the Premiership’s PR team ushered in the return of domestic fare this weekend by releasing a load of positive numbers. They refrained from deploying a load of exclamation marks too, but a few of those would have been perfectly consistent with the general vibe. The Premiership is back! And it’s never been better!
First, boringly, to debunk some of the hyperbole, most of the stats relating to the uptick in viewing figures and attendances across the first six rounds of this season were positioned relative to last. Apparently, cumulative audiences on TNT Sports are up by 30% on this stage of the season last year; 21,000 more matchday tickets have been sold, an increase of 15%. But the start of last season coincided with the end of a World Cup, which tends to diminish figures for the domestic game.
