Opinion
Australia might not be a rugby country per se, but it is an events country par excellence.
Rugby Australia’s surplus of $70.6 million for 2025, along with wiping out the large debt that cost about $7 million to finance in 2024, is nothing short of a stunning turnaround.
Chief executive Phil Waugh and chairman Dan Herbert’s oft-stated plan to set RA up for perpetuity is on track, particularly if the Wallabies can somehow get on a roll and secure real corporate support following a strong World Cup campaign next year.
But the other interesting aspect of the annual report is how it effectively builds the case for the third Bledisloe Test that RA is aggressively pursuing.
Everything old is new again in the RA accounts: the big profit line is old-fashioned backsides on seats – tickets sales from big events, big ideas and the right execution.
For example, RA earned $147 million from match revenue in 2025, dwarfing sponsorship revenue of $55 million and broadcast revenue of $38 million.
There are two caveats here. This masthead understands the $38 million broadcast revenue is artificially low due to the accounting treatment, as the Lions joint-venture revenue has been stripped out. In fact, RA believes the true broadcast revenue last year was $10 million higher than the 2024 figure of about $49 million.
Also, RA’s match-day costs rose strongly due to staging the Lions fixtures, so the $147 million in revenue is far from pure profit.
Still, the point remains: the accounts harken back to a former era when ticket sales were the primary source of revenue. This is crucial because the era of stratospheric broadcast deals for rugby in this part of the world is over, certainly for now.
This brings us to the third Bledisloe Test that RA is keen to schedule. It would likely sell out in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, and would probably come close to selling out at the MCG.
It would significantly boost RA, which continues to warn that the overall model remains challenged. It is very difficult to determine from the published RA accounts what effect the Waratahs and Brumbies are having on their bottom line.
It’s a no-brainer, then – except in rugby nothing is ever that simple.
Ironically, the success of Super Round in Christchurch this Anzac weekend looms as an issue for holding a Bledisloe Test on the same weekend.
If Super Round succeeds after a somewhat unsteady start in Melbourne, the Super Rugby clubs will harden their opposition to another Bledisloe Test; a case of their needs outweighing those of the Wallabies and All Blacks.
The signs look promising that the Super Round in Christchurch will be a success. The novelty of the new stadium is clearly one factor, but with three consecutive days of sold-out fixtures (or very close to it) on the menu, the event could provide exactly the sort of bump the competition has been crying out for.
The stakes are high. Last week, this column raised the question of Super Rugby’s sustainability without big changes – a view not shared by either RA or New Zealand Rugby. But on Thursday, Hurricanes investor Malcolm Gillies echoed many of the same thoughts on a New Zealand podcast.
“When we got involved, we knew the Hurricanes were losing money … the model doesn’t work. Unless there’s change, it’s not going to work,” Gillies told Rugby Direct.
“You’ve got five, six franchises in New Zealand and none of them are making a lot of money. There’s got to be change. The whole system has to change. I don’t think it’s sustainable as it sits right now.
“If it stays the way it is now, I fear for it.”
Given that viewpoint, New Zealand’s Super Rugby clubs would fight extremely hard to keep Super Round if it succeeds, arguing that removing something that works would be perverse.
Here, we have to acknowledge that the Australian and New Zealand models for Super Rugby have diverged significantly in recent years.
Although many perceive that the Kiwis run a top-down model, with NZ Rugby providing all the funding and control, the five Kiwi Super Rugby clubs have received significant private investment.
For example, Australia-based WiseTech Global billionaire Charles Gibbon is the main shareholder of the Highlanders (33 per cent), and property developer Gillies stepped in to effectively save the Hurricanes last year.
These aren’t token investors; they’re investing real money in areas such as high-performance infrastructure. That’s money that would otherwise come from NZ Rugby, so new players such as Gillies have some leverage.
By contrast, the Waratahs and Brumbies are now under RA control, so the top-down model is actually stronger in Australia.
Waugh remains optimistic an Anzac Bledisloe clash will get over the line, and the RA accounts explain his motivation. But there’s a cost here, and the Super Rugby clubs might not want to pay it.
Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific live and exclusive on Stan Sport.
Paul Cully is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
