Home advantage in English rugby union: A study of divisional differences since 2000/01

This descriptive study aimed to explore longitudinal variation in home advantage (HA) among the top four tiers of English rugby union, based on the matches played from 2000/01 to 2024/25 seasons. Home advantage was quantified using Pollard’s traditional and rescaled methods. Initial one-sample t-tests revealed that the mean HA values were significantly greater than 50% across all tiers (p < 0.001), indicating a clear presence of HA. Thereafter, outcomes of a one-way repeated measures ANOVA concluded that HA significantly differed between competition levels (p < 0.001). Post-hoc tests revealed it was significantly greater in the Gallagher Premiership (64.37%) than the RFU Championship (59.69%)across the considered period (p = 0.003). Although XmR control charts identified potential non-random variation in HA during the 2005–2008 RFU Championship seasons, it appears to have stabilised over the past decade across all the examined tiers. This judgement was further supported by sensitivity analyses conducted using linear mixed models, which highlighted no significant seasonal variations in HA in the top two tiers since 2014/15 season. Overall, the findings signify the influence of HA on English rugby union and offer opportunities for future research to explore root causes of the observed divisional and longitudinal variations.