Other than cricket; the national sport of Australia, sports are a big part of society in Australia. There are many other very popular sports. The closest two sports in popularity to Australia’s national sport of cricket are Australian rules football and rugby.
Australian Rules Football
While not the national sport of Australia, Australian rules football actually has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia. Annually, Australian rules football draws an average spectatorship of about 7.5 million.
Australian rules football is also known as Aussie rules football or footy. This contact sport is played on a modified cricket ground. Aussie rules football had its first origins in Victoria back in 1858.
Rugby
Rugby sites 3rd on the list in Australia in terms of popularity. Australia has a rugby league and a rugby union. The two combined draw about 3.2 million in spectatorship annually.
Like Aussie rules football, rugby is a contact sport. However, it played on rectangular field instead of an oval field. The rules are also quite different.
The first rugby league in Australia dates back to 1907 when the New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded.
Other notable sports in Australia
Soccer, tennis, and basketball round out the other sports at the top of the list in Australia in terms of total spectatorship.
One sport not to be forgotten in Australia is surfing! Austalia is often referred to as one of surfing capitals in the world. There are over 2.5 million recreational surfers in Australia! That means over 1 in 10 Australians surf as a recreational activity.
Surfing is a way of living in Australia and dates back to 1915. Australia has had many surfing legends including recent professional surfers and world champions like Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson.
Tensions grew between Australia and the USA during surf competitions in the 90s. There is a constant debate as to which is better – surfing in Australia or surfing in California.
