NZR happy despite loss of $1.9m
AUCKLAND: New Zealand Rugby announced a loss of $1.9 million for the 2018 financial year at its annual meeting in Wellington yesterday.
Despite the losses, NZR is still 44% ahead of budget thanks to $68 million in commercial sponsorships and licensing income.
NZR chair Brent Impey said last year set a benchmark for investment in rugby at $191 million which was fuelled by profits from the 2017 Lions series, but admitted there were challenging times ahead for the sport.
‘‘Although we are pleased with our latest financial result these are still challenging times for rugby as we look further ahead,’’ Impey said.
‘‘The pressure to retain our talent and support the growth in our community game puts pressure on our longterm financial projections.’’
Impey praised NZR’s commercial team and its growth, while also commending the organisation for retaining 87% of its contracted players in 2018 in an increasingly competi tive environment.
He added pending broadcast discussions would be critical in setting NZR up for success beyond 2020.
‘‘Agility and pace are now mantras for us as leaders of the game. NZR can and must show leadership, but we need our stakeholders as partners. None of us have all the answers,’’ he said.
‘‘In this world, new cultures of cooperation, sharing of information, being open to new structures, and being prepared to question the status quo must be our new norm.’’
NZR chief operating officer Nicki Nicol said the profits generated by the Lions series had been invested in key areas.
‘‘We need to ensure profits are spread over a number of years and in a Rugby World Cup year, we are aware that with the absence of the Steinlager series and an abbreviated Investec Rugby Championship, results will be different in 2019.
‘‘The largest investments were in our people and the game with a record $63 million spent on the player payment pool. A further $32 million was invested into our 26 provincial unions and collectively they achieved strong underlying results in 2018.’’
Last year was also a landmark year for women’s rugby as the first Black Ferns professional contracts were signed and past and present players were capped for the first time. New Zealand was also announced as the 2021 Women’s World Cup host.
NZR chief executive Steve Tew was pleased with the rise of women’s rugby, but also stressed the importance of addressing the falling numbers of participation in schoolboy rugby.
‘‘It was really pleasing to see an increased number of New Zealanders signing up to play the game in 2018. This was again led by a strong increase in female registrations,’’ he said.
‘‘This year we ran Quick Rip competitions across the country involving 84 secondary schools, encouraging younger kids to participate in an easy form of the game.
‘‘The NZRled secondary school review shed light on the falling numbers of secondary schoolboys registering to play our sport and now we have clarity over the steps we need to take to address this. It will be a major focus in 2019.’’
Tew also said it was important to ensure rugby was truly a game for all New Zealanders.
‘‘We have introduced training programmes within provincial unions and our rugby community on domestic violence and child protection which help ensure we have safer rugby environments and highlight the positive impact we can have on society.’’ — NZME