Whoever's brainwave it was to secure the Rugby World Cup rights for TV3 must be patting themselves on the back right now. The channel managed to gain their highest ever viewership on Sunday as 1.38 million tuned in to see Ireland take on Italy.

Overall the game managed an average of 956,600 viewers, while across pre-match, match, post-match and highlights of Ireland v Italy, 1.59 million viewers tuned in.

Saturday’s England v Australia game also hit a ratings high, reaching 1.12 million viewers. The match commanded a 685,800 average with a 42% Adults share, and peaked at 802,300 viewers.

To date, TV3 Group’s Rugby World Cup 2015 coverage has reached 3.06 million viewers which is almost 75% of the total potential TV audience.

And there's still much more to come as Rugby World Cup 2015 coverage continues tomorrow (Tuesday 6th October) at 4.30pm on TV3, as Canada takes on Romania in Pool D, followed by Pool A’s Fiji v Uruguay game at 7.30pm.