'Whither Rugby?' 05/06 - Bristol Bounce Back
By BrianC
June 15 2006
Bristol's return to the Premiership fold after a two year absence has been impressive both on and off field. In their last premiership season before relegation, 02/03 they averaged 7k.
| Season |
Average Att. |
Position |
Final ZP Position | Percentage Growth |
| 97-98 | 3605 | 11th(11) | 12th(12) | |
| 98-99 | ||||
| 99-00 | 4958 | 6th(11) | (12) | 37.5% |
| 00-01 | 4639 | 8th(12) | (12) | -6.4% |
| 01-02 | 5436 | 10th(12) | (12) | 17.2% |
| 02-03 | 7023 | 8th(12) | 12th(12) | 29.2% |
| 03-04 | ||||
| 04-05 | ||||
| 05-06 | 9265 | 8th(12) | 11th(12) | 31.9% |
Even that 7k figure is somewhat distorted. At the end of that season they played Bath in what most supporters of both clubs perceived to be a relegation decider. In the end it wasn't but it attracted a then record gate of 20.8k. Strip that from the figures and you have an average of 5.6k.
At the beginning of last season Bristol were most peoples, and the bookies, favourites to be relegated. They proved the doubters wrong and whilst they did eventually end the season in 11th place they were comfortably away from relegation and within a whisker of other established clubs. When I tried to predict their gate for the 05/06 season I looked at the figures above and came to a figure of 7k. I was way out, they finished the season with an average gate of 9.2k. This places them 8th out of the 12 premiership clubs.
| Variation
'97 - '06 '97 = 100% |
257% | 3rd(13) |
| Crowd Growth Absolute | 5660 | 3rd(13) |
| Average Growth | 13.7% |
Another person to have been proved wrong by these figures is Bristol's former sugar daddy Malcolm Pierce. When, a few years ago, he was in the process of pulling the plug from Bristol one of his complaints was that the people of Bristol appeared to have little appetite for top flight rugby hence the low gates. It appears they do. That a properly run club with its roots in the community can flourish and can do so in Bristol.
The future will not all be plain sailing for the Bristolians. Nobody knows that better than they do themselves. Crucially however they have more than survived their first season back in the top flight. They now have crowds to match many other Premiership teams and the revenue streams that come with it. To me their prospects look brighter now than at pretty well any time in the professional era.