FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool C - Wales v Australia - OL Stadium, Lyon, France - September 24, 2023 Australia's Angus Bell and Robert Leota after the match REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rugby Australia announced a A$9.2 million ($6.04 million) deficit for 2023 on Monday and said 2024 would also be a tough year as the bailout of the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team stretches resources.
A deficit is normal in years when World Cups take place as Australia hosts fewer test matches and RA pointed out it was a lower shortfall than in 2015 and 2019.
RA said operating costs had been significantly higher in 2023 with the funding of the Wallabies' highly disappointing World Cup campaign as well as increased investments in women's rugby.
The Rebels went into voluntary administration in January with millions of dollars of debts and RA has guaranteed that it will fund the team until the end of the current Super Rugby Pacific season.
"From a revenue perspective 2024 will be another challenging year," chief executive Phil Waugh said in a news release.
"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.
"We could have reduced costs further for 2024, however this could have had a detrimental long-term effect for the game – 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."
Australia will stage the lucrative British and Irish Lions tour next year and host the men's World Cup in 2027 and the women's equivalent in 2029.
In 2023, RA negotiated an A$80 million flexible credit facility with a private equity company to tide the body over until the revenue streams from those events kick in.
The announcement of a loss comes against a background of a year of turmoil in Australian rugby, much of which was triggered when Dave Rennie was sacked as Wallabies coach in January and replaced by Eddie Jones.
Australia won only two of nine tests in 2023 and crashed out of the World Cup at the pool stage for the first time before Jones quit to return as coach of Japan.
Daniel Herbert, who took over as chairman in November after Hamish McLennan was forced out in a boardroom coup, said RA had realised that only strategic planning and expertise will resolve the game's problems.
"After changes at the Wallabies and board level, the remaining directors and new executive team were determined there would be no repeat of 2023," the former test centre said in his Chairman's Report.
"If there is a lesson that rugby needs to heed, it is that we need to stop looking for the 'quick fix'. We owe this to our players and fans moving forward."($1 = 1.5232 Australian dollars)
(Repoprting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
