Financial trouble reportedly runs deep through New Zealand’s Super Rugby structures, with all five clubs having posted at least one annual net loss between 2019 and 2025.
According to Stuff.nz, a confidential Deloitte report compiled with the clubs’ CEOs shows the Hurricanes lost NZ$1.4-million (around R14-million) in 2023 and nearly NZ$2-million (R20-million) in 2025.
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Without NZ Rugby’s funding, only the Blues in 2022 and Chiefs in 2023 would have turned a profit; every other club-year in the period was unprofitable.
The report, titled Building the Competition the Game Needs, warns the current model is under strain economically and commercially, and projects the system becomes structurally unsustainable within five years, with clubs facing a combined NZ$20-million (R200-million) loss without change.
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Deloitte recommends lifting the Super Rugby salary cap from NZ$4.7-million to NZ$9.7-million per club, closer to the global average, which would raise player base salaries from NZ$195,000 to NZ$295,000.
The document also flags dwindling attendance, down 25% since 2020, and shrinking club memberships as symptoms of a competition losing ground to rival codes and richer overseas leagues, including the Top 14, currently home to 26 New Zealand-born players.
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Kiwi Super Rugby clubs bleed cash appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Financial trouble reportedly runs deep through New Zealand’s Super Rugby structures, with all five clubs having posted at least one annual net loss between 2019 and 2025.
The post Kiwi Super Rugby clubs bleed cash appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
