Australian Rugby / RA

[wamberal]

That participation rate image just shows that junior participation isn't everything. I'm sure a lot of those kids playing soccer thought the same thing I did when I played soccer as a kid - that it's a fun game to play but boring as batshit to watch.

Also won't it be good when mum lets me play a "rough" sport like rugby!!!

 

[Dan54]

Also won't it be good when mum lets me play a "rough" sport like rugby!!!

One of reasons I like about women's rugby, hopefully we stop mums (and Dads) seeing it as too rough for little Johnny. I have actually watched kids soccer where Mums and Dads are saying how rough other team is (f*** me, because someone runs shoulder to shoulder with their kid), and know why our sport is struggling to get kids.

 

[Micheal]

One thing to note -- looking at RA's annual report:

In 2020, Wages & Salaries were 11,396,000.

• Director's Salaries were 1,575,169.
  • This is 13.82% of total salaries.
  • Player salaries in 2020 were $11,703,000
    • Therefore, a handful of director's were paid equivalent to 13.45% of what the entire player base was paid.
• In 2019, Director's salaries were $1,070,173.
  • This means that - from 2019 to 2020 - RA's director's were remunerated an extra 47%.
• Seemingly, whilst the player base took a 70% pay cut in 2020, the director's did not.

Am I wrong on any of this? Seems a tad - how do you say? - fucked.

 

[Wilson]

One thing to note -- looking at RA's annual report:

• In 2019, Director's salaries were $1,070,173.
  • This means that - from 2019 to 2020 - RA's director's were remunerated an extra 47%.

That might be to do with Castle leaving and Clarke coming in on an interim basis, along with a change over at the board level. That sort of chaos is always going to incur some extra costs.

 

[Braveheart81]

Is that because they drove Raelene Castle out and had to pay her out?

 

[cyclopath]

One thing to note -- looking at RA's annual report:

In 2020, Wages & Salaries were 11,396,000.

• Director's Salaries were 1,575,169.
  • This is 13.82% of total salaries.
  • Player salaries in 2020 were $11,703,000
    • Therefore, a handful of director's were paid equivalent to 13.45% of what the entire player base was paid.
• In 2019, Director's salaries were $1,070,173.
  • This means that - from 2019 to 2020 - RA's director's were remunerated an extra 47%.
• Seemingly, whilst the player base took a 70% pay cut in 2020, the director's did not.

Am I wrong on any of this? Seems a tad - how do you say? - fucked.

Directors + Players wages you list there = $13,278,169, not the figure you have at the top.
Which is it?
Regardless, if the players took a big haircut and the Directors did not, it is not a good look at all.

 

[Adam84]

One thing to note -- looking at RA's annual report:

In 2020, Wages & Salaries were 11,396,000.

• Director's Salaries were 1,575,169.
  • This is 13.82% of total salaries.
  • Player salaries in 2020 were $11,703,000
    • Therefore, a handful of director's were paid equivalent to 13.45% of what the entire player base was paid.
• In 2019, Director's salaries were $1,070,173.
  • This means that - from 2019 to 2020 - RA's director's were remunerated an extra 47%.
• Seemingly, whilst the player base took a 70% pay cut in 2020, the director's did not.

Am I wrong on any of this? Seems a tad - how do you say? - fucked.

Players didn’t take a 70% pay cut.
Players took a 60% pay cut between April and July, and a 30% pay cut between July and September. From September Wallabies squad members were reinstated to full pay while Super Rugby members remained at 70% until Dec.

The Chief Executive took a 50% salary reduction, all Board Directors deferred their fees, and all remaining Executive staff took at least a 30% salary reduction.

additional director costs would be to do with the high turnover in directors last year, rather then pay increase

 

[Members Section]

Is that because they drove Raelene Castle out and had to pay her out?

She quit because she felt the board was about to have a meeting & sack her, did she actually get a "pay out"?

Could some of that money be the money that is going to Izzy? Genuine question not stirring the pot

 

[Braveheart81]

Of that $1.575m figure, executive directors received $1,028,941 as salaries and super and $398,000 of incentives.

Non-executive directors received a total of $148,219.

The executive directors would definitely include Raelene Castle. I am unsure about Rob Clarke because in his role as interim CEO he was never the Managing Director. I am assuming it doesn't.

It may include the full share of salary paid by RA to Andy Marinos which would ordinarily fall under SANZAAR office costs because he was announced as the new MD/CEO in December 2020.

 

[Braveheart81]

She quit because she felt the board was about to have a meeting & sack her, did she actually get a "pay out"?

Could some of that money be the money that is going to Izzy? Genuine question not stirring the pot

Looking at the figures, she 100% got a payout.

None of the remuneration of directors would have gone to Folau.

 

[Jimmy_Crouch]

A bit of Dunning–Kruger with the financial analysis going on

 

[Juan Cote]

All the red ink in the Financial Statements shows how wounded RA is and that solvency is not assured in the coming years.

One of my favourite parts is Note 3. It lays bare the currency hedge that both Pulver and Hawker set up and then couldn't manage. At least it is now dead. I couldn't be arsed going back and looking at prior year Financial Statements but it seems RA now have a fairly meaty FX policy. I think the one Pulver and Hawker were working off was probably cooked up on the 10th tee at the Woollarha Golf Club.

It seems KPMG put in the hard yards doubling their fee from 2019 (note 4). I have serious misgivings about audit firms also giving business advice as it can have undue influence on audit outcomes when 'other' fees are equal to or more than the pure audit costs.

Thank fuck for the $5M in Job-keeper (note 5) RA received otherwise the operating loss would have been $32M.

RA has negative equity of circa $7.5M which is a fairly solid indication of insolvency. The asset component of the balance sheet includes 'Memorabilia', which is valued at $1.2M and is around 10% of the value of RA's total Property Plant and Equipment. I wonder what things they have as 'Memorabilia': most likely nothing to do with holding the Bledisloe as no one can remember that.......oh, we've also got $1.3M of intangibles for Trademarks in our asset base which I cannot fathom.

Someone will have to help me with Note 10 as I'm not a debt restructure guy but no doubt this deal accounted for a fair chunk of KPMG's fee bump around structuring the escape from the FX transactions.

Note 11 reveals we paid a tick over $1M to SANZAR, go figure?

Payables at note 12 of $23M is a bit of a problem when you only have $17.5M in the bank. Maybe RA will have to sell some Memorabilia?

Note 15 shows we owe HSBC almost $7M which is due in July 22 (I really think we should sell that Memorabilia) and a further $14M which we owe World Rugby. It looks a though we won't have to pay this one back however as it will be taken off the slate at the next RWC in 2023.

As for Directors' pay, in my view substantial community organisations such as this shouldn't be crowing about how great they are disclosing remuneration of Directors' even through they aren't required to via reduced disclosure afforded to tier 2 reporting entities. The increase, well who knows but the comings and goings wouldn't have helped. The report has 13 different Directors named which highlights this.

Note 24 is the one that really grabs my attention - World Rugby stumped up another $4.5M to keep the wolf from the door in March 2021 however they want in back around early October. The short-term nature of this was no doubt to help RA get over the going concern test.

After all of that, note 24 also states that someone (was it Twiggy in the end?) is prepared to underwrite, ok, make a conditional offer, for RA's hot mess to the tune of $40M.

There are few bright spots in RA finances and even the Directors' report hints the only way out is to sell the silver. Rugby in this country is relying totally on debt at present and there is little chance of increasing revenue in the next 18 months.

It's a long way back from here.

 

[barbarian]

Thanks Juan, that was really interesting.

One correction, though, on the only thing in your post I'd be qualified to talk about: Pulver and Hawker would never be spotted at a public course like Woollahra. Given their lower north shore position, I'd suggest maybe Elanora would be a more likely location for said decision.

 

[Braveheart81]

Also, Woollahra is only a 9 hole course.

I am unsure whether Juan Cote is referring to what would be the 9 hole version of the colloquial 19th hole being the clubhouse or whether his knowledge of Sydney golf courses is lacking.

Angus Pulver did play for Easts for a while though so I'll credit him for picking somewhere Pulver could have realistically been hanging out.

 

[cyclopath]

Also, Woollahra is only a 9 hole course.

I am unsure whether Juan Cote is referring to what would be the 9 hole version of the colloquial 19th hole being the clubhouse or whether his knowledge of Sydney golf courses is lacking.

Angus Pulver did play for Easts for a while though so I'll credit him for picking somewhere Pulver could have realistically been hanging out.

It might have been the 10th tee of somewhere nearby, although rumour has it that a better place to cook up some hedging might be the 3rd, 14th or 17th tees where there is often a wait.

 

[Adam84]

It's clear why RA are playing hardball on funding distribution for Super Rugby, it could be the difference between insolvency and not.

 

[Juan Cote]

I thought it was Woollarha GC but after my 12th silver bullet when I was in Spiv City the other month with Cyclo and Lord Gagger, I may have become a little dis-orientated.

 

[Braveheart81]

I thought it was Woollarha GC but after my 12th silver bullet when I was in Spiv City the other month with Cyclo and Lord Gagger, I may have become a little dis-orientated.

You surely wouldn't have been playing on a public course as a guest of those esteemed gentlemen.

 

[KOB1987]

My guess is it was Royal Sydney GC. Has both the right number of holes and the right demographic and is Woollahra enough.

 

[cyclopath]

You surely wouldn't have been playing on a public course as a guest of those esteemed gentlemen.

I was trying to freeze him to death at Woollahra Oval watching Beasts v Uni. He liked the can bar on the hill!