Rugby Survey: 30% of people became interested in rugby during the Rugby World Cup, raising awareness, and 40% watched the Rugby World Cup on TV!

2019.10.17 Press Releases
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.

-Top players to watch: 1st place "Michael Leitch", 2nd place "Kotaro Matsushima", 3rd place "Kenki Fukuoka"-

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has conducted a "Rugby Survey" using the online opinion survey "T Survey" with 1,501 men and women aged 18 to 69.

Rugby Survey Digest

●What is your favorite ball game?
1st place: Baseball 2nd place: Soccer 3rd place: Tennis 4th place: Volleyball 5th place: Basketball
The top sport for men was "baseball," while the top sport for women was "tennis." "Rugby" ranked 6th.

● 40% of people are interested in rugby, and 60% of men in their 50s and 60s
Things to know about rugby: "How to score," "Japan's ranking," and "The number one country in the world"

● 30% of people became interested in rugby due to the Rugby World Cup
40% "watched the Rugby World Cup on TV"

●Which players on the Japanese national rugby team are worth watching?
1st place "Michael Leitch" 2nd place "Kotaro Matsushima" 3rd place "Kenki Fukuoka" 4th place "Fumiaki Tanaka" 5th place "Yu Tamura" 6th place "Shota Horie" 7th place "Kazuki Himeno" 8th place "Ryohei Yamanaka"

●What comes to mind when you think of rugby?
1st place: "School Wars" 2nd place: "No Side Game" 3rd place: "We Are Youth!"
What is the legendary rugby match? "Nippon Steel Kamaishi led by Yuji Matsuo vs. Doshisha University led by Seiji Hirao"

●What is your favorite ball game?
1st place: Baseball 2nd place: Soccer 3rd place: Tennis 4th place: Volleyball 5th place: Basketball
The top sport for men was "baseball," while the top sport for women was "tennis." "Rugby" ranked 6th.

The Rugby World Cup 2019 kicked off in Japan on September 20th. Japan's final group stage match, Japan vs Scotland, was a spectacular display, securing their first-ever advancement to the final tournament, sparking Rugby World Cup fever in Japan. Therefore, in this T Survey, we conducted a survey on attitudes towards rugby among 1,501 men and women aged 18 to 69.
First, we asked respondents to select multiple times what their favorite ball game is. The top answer was "baseball" (40.2%), followed by "soccer" (31.1%), "tennis" (27.2%), "volleyball" (23.8%), and "basketball" (17.3%). "Rugby" came in sixth with 15.5%. When looking at the results by gender, for men, the top five sports were "baseball," "soccer," "tennis," "golf," and "rugby," while for women, the top five were "tennis," "baseball," "volleyball," "soccer," and "basketball," revealing a difference in favorite sports between men and women.

● 40% of people are interested in rugby, and 60% of men in their 50s and 60s
Things to know about rugby: "How to score," "Japan's ranking," and "The number one country in the world"

Next, we asked whether they were interested in rugby, and 43.7% of people answered that they were "very interested" or "somewhat interested." When broken down by gender and age, the highest percentage was 57.6% for men in their 50s and 60s, and the lowest was 34.5% for women in their 30s and 40s, showing that both men and women in their 50s and 60s are particularly interested in rugby. In addition, when asked what they know about rugby (multiple choice), the most common answers were "I know how to score" (30.1%), "I know Japan's world ranking" (20.8%), "I know which country is ranked number one in the world" (18.3%), and "I know how many members there are on a rugby team" (17.8%).However, it was found that only around 5% of people have core, authentic knowledge about rugby, such as "I know the meaning of the cap" or "I know all the positions."

● 30% of people became interested in rugby due to the Rugby World Cup
40% "watched the Rugby World Cup on TV"

The Japanese national team has performed remarkably well at the Rugby World Cup, and when asked by multiple choice whether the World Cup being held in Japan has changed their feelings about rugby in any way, 29.6% of respondents said they "became interested in rugby," 21.3% said they "wanted to watch rugby," and 13.1% said they "loved rugby more than ever before," showing that attitudes are beginning to change as a result of the buzz surrounding rugby, including the Japanese national team. In particular, 20% of those in their 50s and 60s responded that they "like rugby more than ever before," demonstrating that the World Cup has had a strong impact on the hearts of this age group, which is home to many rugby fans. In addition, when asked to select multiple options as to whether they had specifically watched, seen, or heard about the World Cup, 42.5% answered "I watched it on TV," and 51.0% answered "I saw it on TV or in the news online," showing that nearly half of the people watched the good performance of the Japanese national team and the exciting matches between the world's top teams on TV or in the news.

●Which players on the Japanese national rugby team are worth watching?
1st place "Michael Leitch" 2nd place "Kotaro Matsushima" 3rd place "Kenki Fukuoka" 4th place "Fumiaki Tanaka" 5th place "Yu Tamura" 6th place "Shota Horie" 7th place "Kazuki Himeno" 8th place "Ryohei Yamanaka"

The Japanese national team has been very inspiring, with their united teamwork and sincere approach to the World Cup. When asked to select multiple players they are paying attention to (excluding "none in particular"), the top choice was Japan captain Michael Leitch (56.4%), followed by Kotaro Matsushima (54.7%), who scored a hat-trick in the opening match against Russia, Kenki Fukuoka (35.2%), who was selected as Player of the Match in the match against Scotland, Fumiaki Tanaka (33.6%), the seasoned scrum-half, who contributed to the team's victory with his kicking play, Yu Tamura (27.9%), who contributed to the team's victory with his kicking play, Shota Horie (27.1%), the hooker who makes a strong presence, Kazuki Himeno (25.5%), who is the No. 8 who supports Japan, and Ryohei Yamanaka (15.6%), Japan's full-back.

●What comes to mind when you think of rugby?
1st place: "School Wars" 2nd place: "No Side Game" 3rd place: "We Are Youth!"
What is the legendary rugby match? "Nippon Steel Kamaishi led by Yuji Matsuo vs. Doshisha University led by Seiji Hirao"

Finally, when asked to give an open-ended answer as to what movies, dramas or books come to mind when they hear the word "rugby," the most common answer was "School Wars," a school drama that aired on the TBS network in 1984, followed by "No Side Game," a TBS Sunday drama that aired in the previous season, and "We Are Youth!", a youth school drama that aired on the Nippon Television network in 1974. In addition, when asked to give their most memorable rugby moment in a free response, the most popular choice was the famous match between Nippon Steel Kamaishi, led by Matsuo Yuji, and Doshisha University, led by Hirao Seiji, which took place at the National Stadium in January 1985.

■ Survey Overview
Survey method: Internet (T Survey)
Survey period: Friday, September 27, 2019 to Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Survey area: Nationwide
Survey subjects: Men and women aged 18-69 (T members)
Sample size: 1,501 people

Materials related to this matter

Rugby Survey: 30% of people became interested in rugby during the Rugby World Cup, raising awareness, and 40% watched the Rugby World Cup on TV!

Inquiries regarding this matter
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando / TEL: 03-6800-4464