The IRFU recorded a deficit of €18.4 million primarily due to the financial impact of competing in last year’s World Cup in France. The union released the annual accounts dated to July 31st, 2024, at a continuation Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday.
The deficit is about €1.4 million less than originally forecast and the IRFU is confident that they will be able to return to a small cash surplus in the year ahead. Irish rugby’s governing body calculated that the World Cup had a net impact on the union finances amounting to €12.1 million.
This comprised the additional costs of preparing for and taking part in the tournament and the loss of revenues associated with not having Autumn Nations Series (ANS) matches in 2023, traditionally a three-match fixture list.
The Union’s income in the year was €79 million, down from €92 million the previous year, a direct result of not hosting ANS matches in 2023 and from which the net impact of €12.1 million is gleaned.
Overall, the IRFU balance sheet shows cash and cash investments of €69 million, no debt, and net assets of €87 million. An increased investment in the women’s game was borne out by a total spend of €8.3 million, €2.6 million higher than the previous year.
Scott Bemand’s 15s squad secured third place at this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations Championship, thereby qualifying automatically for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, and later in the year managed a superb second place in the WXV 1 tournament in Canada. Allan Temple Jones women’s Sevens squad made their Olympic debut in Paris.
Other headline figures included the €9 million revenue generated by income associated with the provinces that came from United Rugby Championship (URC) and EPCR (Champions and Challenge Cup competitions) and gate receipts for knockout games. The men’s national team generate over 80 per cent of the union’s revenue.
The IRFU received grants of €4 million from Sport Ireland. On the other side of the balance sheet professional game costs came to €43.9 million that included operational, logistical, player and coaching costs to the men’s senior international team, excluding the World Cup in France, together with all the costs in respect of the four provincial teams.
The accounts also show that Munster Branch repaid €306,000 of loans extended by the IRFU to help fund the redevelopment of Thomond Park. But €10.45 million remains outstanding on the loan, which is secured on the Munster Branch’s share of Thomond Park Stadium Company, the owner of the venue.
The IRFU stepped in in late 2022 to bail out Munster Branch which was running into difficulties with its loan repayments on the project as a result of the Covid pandemic. The balance on the IRFU’s loan to Munster Branch jumped by €4.2 million to €10.75 million at that time as a result.
The repayment terms were also amended.
Up to 2022, Munster was obliged to make annual payments against the loan of €100,000 plus half of any income it got from additional multiyear ticket sales, multiyear corporate box sales and net income from naming rights on the stadium.
When the additional money was loaned, the annual repayment was doubled to €200,000 a year with the share of other income remaining as was, with the arrangement reviewed every two years. Failure by Munster Branch to meet its repayment commitments could see a return to even more strict conditions, the accounts state.
The IRFU accounts show it also extended an unsecured loan to Ulster Branch last year. The €969,000 was earmarked to help fund replacement of the pitch at Kingspan Stadium at Ravenhill. Ulster Branch is expected to repay that loan at £115,000 (€140,000) a year over the next decade.
Interest on both loans is calculated at 1 per cent per annum.
The IRFU’s Chief Financial Officer Thelma O’Driscoll said: “While the deficit we are reporting is certainly significant, it was anticipated and planned for; and our final result is in fact slightly ahead of what we had projected. We are aiming to make a small cash surplus in the current financial year.
“Ticket sales for our international matches continue to be strong, with all four games in this year’s Autumn Nations Series sold out. In addition, we had a full take-up of the tranche of 10-year premium tickets which became available earlier in the season.
“Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead and although we are not forecasting to be in debt at any time over the next 10 years, we must be prudent when it comes to our expenditure. Our focus as a Union needs to be on generating new revenue streams and continually reviewing our cost base to ensure that we can continue to support the game at all levels throughout the island of Ireland.”
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