The Lions have helped Rugby Australia (RA) turn around their financial fortunes with a record $70.6 million surplus for 2025.
RA also have a cash reserve of $31.4 million after it paid off a $60m loan in August 12 months early as total revenue for the year hit the $262m mark, its annual report says.
Click here to read the report in full.
“This record operating surplus allows us to look ahead to the future with clarity and confidence,” RA chief executive officer Phil Waugh says.
The figure is almost double their previous record, set from hosting the 2003 World Cup.
“We made great progress in ensuring the proceeds of our major events, including last year’s British & Irish Lions tour, will set up our game to thrive long-term,” Waugh says.
The Lions tour Australia once every 12 years and were accompanied by up to 40,000 fans which delivered an economic boost for host states including non-rugby ones.
The report says 373,168 fans attended all seven of the Wallabies home Tests last year at an average of 53,308 people per game, a record for a non-home Rugby World Cup season.
Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert says the result sets them up to benefit even more from men’s (2027) and women’s (2029) home world cups.
“There is still much work ahead … but given the great strides we have made … I am more confident than ever,” Herbert says.
MOVING ON FROM THE LIONS
Long-term future sustainability is also on Waugh’s mind as he looks to protect their revenue from next year’s World Cup.
“I think that not just in Australia, but globally, national unions have got into the habit of spending money before they have it and ultimately big events pay down that money,” he says.
“It’s really deliberate for us to be quarantining the revenues from the World Cup to ensure that the game’s set up in perpetuity.”
Waugh is expecting a small deficit this season with the existing Rugby Championship put on hold but a new global Nations Championship kicking off.
He also says the RA wants to develop their women’s XVs program given their sevens program is an Olympic sport. A women’s Lions team has been formed and its inaugural tour will be to New Zealand next year.
Waugh says nations that are doing well in women’s XVs rugby are doing so by using their sevens players and they need to follow suit.
The Australian women’s team will play their NZ counterparts in a Test at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland tomorrow (Anzac Day).
SUPER MAGIC ROUND IN CHRISTCHURCH
All of this weekend’s Super Rugby Pacific games will be held in the same venue: Christchurch’s new stadium.
Later today, the Crusaders (host team) play NSW before the Hurricanes meet the ACT Brumbies and Auckland Blues meet Queensland tomorrow (April 25).
On Sunday, the Dunedin-based Highlanders host the Auckland-based Moana Pasifika and the Waikato-based Chiefs meet the Fijian Drua.
