The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the managing body of rugby in Ireland, recorded a deficit of €18.4m in its accounts for the 2023/24 season.
The IRFU blamed the impact of the 2023 Rugby World Cup for the deficit, which was €1.4m lower than initially forecast, and said it is budgeting to return to a break-even cash position for the current year.
"Like many High-Performance Unions in World Rugby, the 2023 Rugby World Cup impacted significantly on the IRFU’s finances, with the net impact amounting to €12.1m," the IRFU said in a statement.
"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."
Income totalled €79m, down from €92m in 2022, as a direct result of the IRFU being unable to host men's autumn internationals.
The IRFU said its balance sheet remains strong with cash and cash investments of €69m, no debt and net assets of €87m,
The organisations increased its spend on women's rugby by €2.6m to €8.3m in 2023/34 and took heart from the Ireland women's team's third-place showing in the Six Nations, automatic qualification for the 2025 Rugby World Cup, and finishing as runners-up in the WXV 1 tournament in Canada.
Thelma O'Driscoll, CFO of the IRFU, said the ongoing men's autumn internationals have all sold out, as have a tranche of 10-year premium tickets.
"While the deficit we are reporting today 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," she said.
"Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead and although we are not forecasting to be in debt at any time over the next ten 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."
Kevin Potts, CEO of IRFU, said taking part in the Rugby World Cup is "a huge honour" but "does have a significant, negative financial impact for Unions which requires planning and management over a four-year cycle."
"Like all Unions we are not immune to the financial and economic headwinds facing the game and we welcome World Rugby’s recent and ongoing work with High Performance Unions on the financial sustainability of the game," he added.
"This is something we need to address in a collaborative manner, and we in the IRFU are committed to doing so."
Potts said the 2026 launch of the Nations Cup, which will pitch the major rugby nations against each other in a league format, "provides further reason to be optimistic for our game."
"However, as a Union, without further additional revenue streams, of which there is no certainty, we simply will not be able to maintain current levels of investment across the game."
(Pic: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
