Here in England we are gearing up for the big match on Saturday. But the country that wins the Rugby World Cup may receive more than just a victorious acolade. Research (1) shows that sporting victory raises testorone levels in fans of the winning team. Testorone is a sex hormone and when levels rise so does sex drive. When ‘our team’ wins our perceived elevated status causes our testosterone levels to increase. So victorious fans have increased testorone levels; fans of a losing side suffer lowered testorone and threfore temporarirly lowered sex drive.

It seems that testosterone levels are affected in two ways in men. Firstly testosterone raises in the face of a challenge as if it were an anticipatory response to impeding competition and secondly testotorone rises in winners (and those who strongly identify with winners) and declines in losers (and the losers’ supporters). (2)

This may happen becacause the victor in a ‘battle’ may have to gear up to more challenges (testostorone makes us stronger and better co-ordinated) and the losers may need to withdraw from more challenges to prevent injury.

If England win on Saturday we may be seeing a significant rise in birth rates in July 2008. When Germany won the soccer world cup in 2006 birth rates rose by between 10 and 15% nine months later. If we lose ? Well there may be a little less rough and tumble between the sheets amongst English Rugby fans this weekend.

(1) Raj Persaud-’The motivated Mind’ pgs 304-311
(2) Psychologist James Dabbs of State University showed that testosterone levels in male fans rise and fall with a team’s performance. He took saliva samples from 21 Italian and Brazilian men before and after the 1994 Soccer World Cup in which Brazil defeated Italy for the championship. The Brazilian’s soccer team fans’ testosterone rose an average of 28 percent after the victory while the Italian’s fans’ levels dropped 27 percent.