He makes the mistake of equating the number of fans to the viability and future of professional rugby.
Fans will not, cannot make a team financially viable. Not in rugby, football, tennis, cricket, golf, or whatever. Fans make an atmosphere, make a contribution, motivate the players during the game.
As such, any article that considers attendance an important factor is missing the point.
Fans are there to make TV coverage look good. To give the huge sums paid for the broadcast rights some legitimacy, to help justify the money big money sponsors and advertisers spend.