It is quite interesting to delve into the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby financials because it is an eye opener. The New Zealand national team the All Blacks is the only profitable team in New Zealand. Every single other team and all tournaments are a cost center operating at a loss.
When rugby turned professional at the back end of 1995 the sport administrators were definitely not ready and have all been struggling for the last 31 years. The French League often boasted being the richest league has for the last two years posted losses with the Top 14 clubs all having losses besides one being La Rochelle who posted a €1.8 million profit. The French Rugby Union posted losses of €35m but that should change with an extra boost from the Six Nations payouts this coming season.
The New Zealand Rugby Football Union has cash reserves of NZ$150 million ($86 million) and another NZ$62.5 million ($36 million) in a legacy fund. The combined $122 million is expected to dwindle to $41 million by the end of 2031. One can clearly see why the Greatest Rivalry Series was so important to the revenue as this added $16 million to the profits which is roughly 72% of the annual profit as NZ$38 million is $22 million.
What it tells us is the current format is unsustainable and drastic changes need to be implemented sooner than later. A business cannot rely on a windfall every 4 years even though New Zealand has a British and Irish Lions tour in 2028 which will give them extra revenue by as much as $14 million. This is literally covering their losses for that particular year.
South Africa has invested in playing in the United Rugby Championship having paid in nearly $20 million each year to become a full shareholder. 2027 this will change as they will start receiving profits from that event. The other big difference between New Zealand and South Africa is the rugby teams playing domestic rugby are privately owned and are not a cost to the SA Rugby Union. This would change if those franchises went bankrupt as they have also been losing money each season.
The governing body of rugby being the IRFU is not in the same financial position as FIFA and only made $10 million profit last year versus a loss of close to $55 million the previous year. Rugby is poorly run and is in many ways still stuck in the amateur type of thinking and changes must happen.
When we look at the New Zealand financials player payments accounts for one third of expenses. The ladies game is a cost center that has been recently added and cannot break even and in all honesty will never be a stand alone and will always need funding.
The tournaments are not profitable and the summit meeting that is scheduled for the 24th later this week may hold some answers. I do not see how Super Rugby can continue knowing the losses and expect them to join a Northern Hemisphere tournament following South Africa in the URC or an equivalent. A big shake up is on the cards as knowing what you are doing is not going to pay the bills means change is imminent.