Mixed Feelings On The Rugby World Cup

Less than four in ten New Zealanders are looking forward to the Rugby World Cup, according to a new poll by UMR Research. While we think it will be good for our economy, a sizable number of us think that it will be disruptive for many New Zealanders.

- 35% of all New Zealanders say that they are not looking forward to the RWC, compared with 37% who say they are looking forward to it and 29% who are neutral.

- 62% of those who are interested in rugby say they are looking forward to the RWC, compared with just 8% of those who are not interested in rugby.

- Enthusiasm is particularly low in Canterbury. Just 16% of Cantabrians say that they are looking forward to the RWC, suggesting that they are feeling left out after games were moved away from Christchurch.

- 51% of New Zealanders think that the Rugby World Cup will be good for the New Zealand economy (only 15% disagree with 32% neutral)

- 41% believe that it will be disruptive for many New Zealanders (23% disagree and 37% are neutral).

- 40% expect all the developments to be ready on time (14% disagree and 46% are neutral).

The data is from UMR Research’s latest online survey of a nationally representative sample of 850 New Zealanders aged 18 years and over. Fieldwork was conducted from June 29th to July 20th 2011.