Australian Rugby / RA

[Adam84]

Yeah it comes at a time when there is a report that Hamish has officially contacted Payne Hass. Anyone else concerned about why our Chairman is doing player recruitment?

not really.

This is PR spin to increase the marketability/exposure of rugby Australia in a year they’re negotiating PE and new broadcast deals.

I know these talks and the Sua'ali'i getting people in a twist, but reality is these talks are pushing Rugby into the headlines in a way they’ve haven’t been for years

I wouldn’t be surprised if they try do similar deals in Queensland and Victoria to give a bump in the big states.

 

[John S]

not really.

This is PR spin to increase the marketability/exposure of rugby Australia in a year they’re negotiating private equity and new broadcast deals.

I know it’s getting people in a twist, but reality is these talks are pushing Rugby into the headlines in a way they’ve haven’t been for years

It's good though watching all the NRL pundits getting themselves in a twist about it all, and keeping it alive - if they just went "oh he's leaving" and then stopped talking about it, I don't think there is enough momentum to keep the publicity alive.

I think the only benefit to getting HM doing this is because it's coming from "the top" RA has basically got the NRL to give Union free publicity. (Ok maybe not the only benefit, but close to the biggest one)

 

[PhilClinton]

Any potential Haas deal means he won't be playing rugby until 2026 anyway.

If the NRL headlines today are to be believed, NAS was pretty close to jumping to rugby.

 

[Dctarget]

I'm still waiting for Hamish to have a coffee with Scott Pendlebury or Max Gawn. That would be fun.

 

[Highlander35]

The loose cannon is going buck wild.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yeah any of us who have worked in an organisation with a board and especially an activist board will recognise the signs. The Chair should get out of the way and leave the operational stuff to the exec team. A big part of me does enjoy the Hammer getting stuck into loig and flying the flag for our game though.

 

[qwerty51]

Yeah it comes at a time when there is a report that Hamish has officially contacted Payne Hass. Anyone else concerned about why our Chairman is doing player recruitment?

Even as the CEO of RA, Marinos is still invisible.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Even as the CEO of Rugby Australia, Marinos is still invisible.

Same as Abdo being Pony Boys PA for the NRL.

 

[Braveheart81]

Same as Abdo being Pony Boys PA for the NRL.

Spot on.

It's really interesting positioning from both sports. We've gone from previously having the CEO as much more of a figurehead of both organizations to now being in the background.

If it's planned and calculated and everyone is on board then it can be fine. I think the big issue is where it all goes off script and a whole lot of work people have poured their time into gets undone or changed because the Chairperson decides to head in a different direction.

 

[Derpus]

A couple of quick observations on the annual report:

We have an interest bearing loan of $24.6m that is incurring interest at somewhere just over 10.5%. That's expensive! It's due to be paid back by March 2027.

The 5.5m pounds we received from World Rugby has decreased in value by more than $1.8m due to the collapse of the pound. Good news! We repay this against our Rugby World Cup distribution this year.

Cashflow will definitely be tight this year given we will get far less from the Rugby World Cup than we ordinarily would plus have the standard RWC issue of not hosting many games this year.

That's like giving a payday loan to a person on the poverty line so they can afford to eat. Why wouldn't WR (World Rugby) provide a key stakeholder in financial distress a low interest loan?

 

[Braveheart81]

That's like giving a payday loan to a person on the poverty line so they can afford to eat. Why wouldn't WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) provide a key stakeholder in financial distress a low interest loan?

This is a separate facility. I have no idea who the lender is.

Realistically World Rugby doesn't have the funds to loan an extra $20m+ to whoever needs it.

 

[Derpus]

This is a separate facility. I have no idea who the lender is.

Realistically World Rugby doesn't have the funds to loan an extra $20m+ to whoever needs it.

Ah I thought it was the WR (World Rugby) one. I don't know how much an 8m surplus means when we are taking out high interest loans to keep the lights on.

Better than a deficit I guess.

 

[qwerty51]

This is a separate facility. I have no idea who the lender is.

Realistically World Rugby doesn't have the funds to loan an extra $20m+ to whoever needs it.

It's from a US firm, Ares

Rugby Australia forced into new $40m loan with US firm Ares Management to shore up financial hole

Rugby Australia is on the verge of clinching an expensive $40m short-term funding deal with a US investment firm, in a move that will start to help dig the…

news.knowledia.com

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Didn't they just host the Women's RWC? Would've thought that would get some coin.

"The cost of competitions increased by $56m from the previous year, to a tick under $137m. That included spending on Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and Super Rugby post-Covid."

I take that to mean that both cost NZR a ton of money (Super Rugby post-Covid presumably includes Aupiki) plus they've spent $21Mn on women's rugby including having proper contracts for the top tier of players but also the grass-roots game.

Despite the loss NZR now has cash reserves in excess of $90Mn, largely due to the SilverLake money of which $37Mn was distributed to the member Unions & affiliates (e.g. junior rugby) not funded by those Unions.

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[qwerty51]

They would be hoping they get a return on that investment in the women's game...

 

[Dan54]

Yep and paid out $40 mill in grants to community game, so guess they would of dropped a bit off it. Not sure how to read the report with 90 mill put into cash reserves? That seems part of the loss.

 

[Dan54]

They would be hoping they get a return on that investment in the women's game...

Yep I think we will see more rugby boards investing in women's game. Only real big area of growth I think.

 

[qwerty51]

Yep I think we will see more rugby boards investing in women's game. Only real big area of growth I think.

Revenue growth however?

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Yep and paid out $40 mill in grants to community game, so guess they would of dropped a bit off it. Not sure how to read the report with 90 mill put into cash reserves? That seems part of the loss.

It's $90Mn total cash reserves (so about where they were pre-Covid, I think) & the SL money comes in $100Mn blocks. All in all I think I'd rather be NZR than RA right now with money in the bank & not needing to service any loans.

Anyways, we've probably derailed this thread enough for one day.

 

[Braveheart81]

Revenue growth however?

Yes ultimately but not necessarily directly.

Increasing participation among women and girls will bring more fans to the game paying to attend Wallabies test matches etc. I don't think it really matters that the top end of the women's game isn't really revenue generating at this point.