AusLeisure

Rugby Australia has today advised of a $9.2 million deficit in its 2023 operations, warning that 2024 will be “another challenging year” for the governing body.

Releasing its financial results for 2023 as part of its AGM today (Monday 29th April), Rugby Australia showed recorded revenue of $124 million and expenditure of $130 million with $3.3 million spent on interest payments.

With the Wallabies eliminated in the pool stage at last year’s World Cup, costs associated with the campaign involved $2.6 million unapproved over-investment.

The interest payments result from the governing body having set up a new $80 million loan facility last year to “be a short-term bridge” to the higher revenues expected in 2025, due to the British and Irish Lions tour, as well as the home men’s and women’s World Cups in 2027 and 2029.

He went on to advise that the sport must use the anticipated financial windfall from the British and Irish Lions tour alongside the World Cups in 2027 and 2029 to “reset” the game.

Herbert said the game simply could not afford to waste the cash windfalls on the horizon which, he said, “won’t come around again any time soon”, noting “we’ve been spending more money as a game than what we’ve been earning and we can’t continue to do that.

“We’ve got these two big capital events with the Lions and the home World Cup, and by then I’m hoping the Women’s World Cup will be a really big event as well.

“We can’t squander that opportunity, so we’ve got to reset the game over the next couple of years otherwise, that windfall won’t come around again, anytime soon. It will be wasted beyond that, so we need to take the opportunity over the next couple of years.”

Rugby Australia Chief Executive Phil Waugh said the governing body was managing both short term needs, and the longer-term position of the game with a new broadcast cycle starting in 2026.

Waugh stated “we have set a clear path forward - to unite the game from the grassroots to the elite level, to maximise efficiencies in high-performance, to invest in growth areas of the game - especially in community and women’s rugby - and to set the game up to maximise the commercial opportunities over the next six years to ensure a thriving future for Australian Rugby.”

Waugh indicated 2024 would be another challenging year “given we have had to take on the unplanned cost of the Melbourne Rebels’ operations for 2024, as well as additional investments and distributions to member unions, Super Rugby clubs, the community game, pathways and women’s rugby”.

He added “it is essential that we set the game up as best we can for the major revenue events on the horizon in 2025, 2027 and 2029.”

Uncertain future for Melbourne Rebels
The financial results cast yet more doubt on the future of the Super Rugby’s Rebels, with Rugby Australia having funded the club to the tune of $3.9 million last year (totalling $12.5 million on the club in the last three years). Regardless of whether the Rebels’ investor group delivers a rescue package, annual funding would likely still need to be delivered by Rugby Australia.

Herbert recently told Sky Sport NZ’s Rugby Breakdown that “we’ve been living beyond our means as a game” when asked about the future of the Rebels, and on Monday said negotiations with the troubled franchise were ongoing.

Directorial Changes
Rugby Australia will be seeking two board members before the end of the year after frustrated shareholders decided to vote against the re-election of a board director.

Karen Penrose, a non-executive director at Cochlear Limited, Ramsay Health Care Limited and Bank of Queensland, will step down from the governing body after she did not receive a two-thirds majority from members, which include the Super Rugby franchises and state unions.

Fellow directors Matt Hanning and Jane Wilson were re-elected to the board alongside new directors, former Nine and NRL executive Alexi Baker, and Brisbane businessman Hans Pearson.

Former Salesforce Chief Executive Pip Marlow is planning to step down from her position on the board later this year.

Related Articles

6th April 2024 - PTP extends partnership with Rugby Australia

7th March 2024 - Rugby Australia review finds $2.6 million of unapproved expenses spent on Wallabies’ World Cup campaign

16th February 2024 - Rugby Australia announces new investment in women’s game

14th February 2024 - Troubled Melbourne Rebels make Chief Executive and key staff redundant

30th January 2024 - Rugby Australia responds to Melbourne Rebels entering voluntary administration

22nd December 2023 - Rugby Australia names Peter Horne as new High Performance Director

24th November 2023 - Rugby Australia secures private equity $80 million loan

20th November 2023 - Rugby Australia board elects former Wallaby as new Chairman

19th November 2023 - Hamish McLennan ousted as Rugby Australia Chair

14th November 2023 - Rugby Australia and NSW Rugby Union move forward with national alignment first

2nd November 2023 - Rugby Australia announces review of Wallabies performance

23rd August 2023 - Rugby Australia announces ‘historic strategic reset’ to gain financial control of Super Rugby clubs

22nd August 2023 - Rugby Australia partners with World Rugby to appoint Women’s High-Performance Manager

22nd August 2023 - Australia’s women rugby players call out Rugby Australia over inequality

21st July 2023 - Rugby Australia and Japan Rugby Football Union to forge their relationship

6th June 2023 - Rugby Australia names former Wallaby Phil Waugh as new Chief Executive.

1st May 2023 - Rugby Australia Chief Executive Andy Marinos resigns

27th April 2023 - Rugby Australia advises of financial rebound with $8.2 million surplus

17th April 2023 - Rugby Australia and British and Irish Lions announce joint commercial venture for 2025 tour

1st December 2022 - New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia agree exclusive new Super Rugby Pacific deal until 2030

18th July 2022 - Rugby Australia condemns deplorable crowd incidents at SCG

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.