Hurricane warning
Concern in capital as table-topping franchise loses $1.4m
The Hurricanes board will put the franchise’s entire business model under scrutiny after revealing it lost $1.4 million in 2023.
While Super Rugby franchises do not make public their financial performance, the Hurricanes’ plight emerged last week at the Wellington Rugby annual meeting, as the provincial union owns 50% of the Hurricanes.
Wellington chairperson Russell Poole, who is also a Hurricanes board member, told Stuff yesterday that Wellington lost $150,000 “before depreciation” in 2023, but had also booked a $700,000 “non-cash” loss on their Hurricanes shareholding.
He said this meant the Hurricanes’ loss stood at $1.4m for 2023, and didn’t try to sugarcoat the situation. “Absolutely it’s a concern,” he said. “One hundred per cent it is.
“We alongside the other Hurricanes directors are looking into that. We are fortunate, we are very well capitalised – not that you want to have that sort of loss, but we’re still well capitalised.
“So, it’s not bringing us to our knees but it's not a good business outcome.
“So, we need to look at our business model and get one that’s more sustainable.”
The Hurricanes’ financial performance is in stark contrast to the Clark Laidlaw-coached side’s feats on the field this year. They are the only unbeaten team in Super Rugby Pacific with a 6-0 record, and are well on track to host at least one final, which would provide a much-needed boost to the bottom line.
Poole was blunt about the reasons for the loss, with the Hurricanes’ declining revenue failing to keep pace with their costs.
“You spend more than you make,” he said. “It’s pretty simple. Income is generally down and the expenses were either the same, or greater.
“It’s a sport that has an awful lot of costs associated with it, and has limited control over its revenue, and those revenue numbers have been hard to get.”
Poole said the loss had nothing to do with the Hurricanes’ player wages, which are covered by New Zealand Rugby, but put high performance spending at all levels of the game in the spotlight.
“It’s not related to player costs, it’s infrastructure, it’s salaries of other staff ... it’s another area where this discussion around high performance needs to be had,” he said.
“It’s a lot of money between NPC sides and Super sides and teams in black that goes into high performance. It’s a very expensive business.”
The Hurricanes’ loss emphasises the financial pressures facing the professional game in New Zealand and overseas.
Wellington Rugby’s annual reports also show the Hurricanes lost $443,500 in 2022 and $667,000 in 2021, compared to a profit of $593,354 in 2020 and $314,846 in 2019.
However, Poole was unconvinced that New Zealand rugby, collectively, needed to make a hard choice between Super Rugby and the NPC as the sole professional competition that attracted the lion’s share of funding. “I don’t know if it has to be one or the other,” he said. “But there needs to be sense and system between them.
“I believe there is an opportunity for NPC and for Super and for teams in black. But what there needs to be for that to work is a bit more conversation and fine turning around how they grow.
“Nobody seems to trust the level below them. So, where we might have had a 32-person All Black squad before, now we've got 50-person squad and we've got the New Zealand XV.
“[But] ... is there room for both [Super Rugby and NPC]? Absolutely. But it needs to be better. It needs some fine-tuning.”