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Paul Cully<\/a>Rugby columnist<\/p>\nApril 25, 2026 \u2014 9:33am<\/p>\n
April 25, 2026 \u2014 9:33am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Australia might not be a rugby country per se, but it is an events country par excellence.<\/p>\n Rugby Australia\u2019s surplus of $70.6 million for 2025<\/a>, along with wiping out the large debt that cost about $7 million to finance in 2024, is nothing short of a stunning turnaround.<\/p>\n Chief executive Phil Waugh and chairman Dan Herbert\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Everything old is new again in the RA accounts: the big profit line is old-fashioned backsides on seats \u2013 tickets sales from big events, big ideas and the right execution.<\/p>\n For example, RA earned $147 million from match revenue in 2025, dwarfing sponsorship revenue of $55 million and broadcast revenue of $38 million.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Also, RA\u2019s match-day costs rose strongly due to staging the Lions fixtures, so the $147 million in revenue is far from pure profit.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a no-brainer, then \u2013 except in rugby nothing is ever that simple.<\/p>\n Ironically, the success of Super Round in Christchurch this Anzac weekend looms as an issue for holding a Bledisloe Test on the same weekend.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Related Article The signs look promising that the Super Round in Christchurch will be a success. The novelty of the new stadium<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The stakes are high. Last week, this column raised the question of Super Rugby\u2019s sustainability without big changes \u2013 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we got involved, we knew the Hurricanes were losing money … the model doesn\u2019t work. Unless there\u2019s change, it\u2019s not going to work,\u201d Gillies told Rugby Direct.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got five, six franchises in New Zealand and none of them are making a lot of money. There\u2019s got to be change. The whole system has to change. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s sustainable as it sits right now.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it stays the way it is now, I fear for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that viewpoint, New Zealand\u2019s Super Rugby clubs would fight extremely hard to keep Super Round if it succeeds, arguing that removing something that works would be perverse.<\/p>\n Here, we have to acknowledge that the Australian and New Zealand models for Super Rugby have diverged significantly in recent years.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Related Article These aren\u2019t token investors; they\u2019re investing real money in areas such as high-performance infrastructure. That\u2019s money that would otherwise come from NZ Rugby, so new players such as Gillies have some leverage.<\/p>\n By contrast, the Waratahs and Brumbies are now under RA control, so the top-down model is actually stronger in Australia.<\/p>\n Waugh remains optimistic an Anzac Bledisloe clash will get over the line, and the RA accounts explain his motivation. But there\u2019s a cost here, and the Super Rugby clubs might not want to pay it.<\/p>\n Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> live and exclusive on Stan Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4242f726a348f2a057447ca360928fc74d977ae9.jpeg\")
Max Jorgensen and the Wallabies would benefit from a third Bledisloe match each year.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Phil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/983941d304d00bb431c7d803528b216681ab864c.jpeg\")
Phil Waugh and Daniel Herbert have Australian rugby in strong financial shape.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/34f5bcadbf794f4fdf27ef729fb9f6571f62232d.jpeg\")
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Paul Cully<\/a> is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opinion Paul CullyRugby columnist April 25, 2026 \u2014 9:33am April 25, 2026 \u2014 9:33am Save You have reached…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-628982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}