A record financial loss came as no surprise to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), which is predicting more pain but a better bottom line over coming years.
The NZRU announced on Thursday a loss of $NZ15.9 million ($A12.18 million) for 2009 at its annual meeting in Wellington, attributing it to the impact of the global recession, along with investments in hosting the 2011 rugby World Cup.
The latter contributed $NZ6.3 million ($A4.83 million) towards the loss although $NZ4.2 million ($A3.22 million) of that was on paper only due to accounting practices and will be recouped by 2011.
It was the operational loss of $NZ9.6 million ($A7.36 million) that most concerned chief executive Steve Tew, although he was pleased his organisation’s frugal approach last year restricted the damage at a time of worldwide financial malaise.
Measures included freezing NZRU salaries and providing no program for the New Zealand Maori side among other on-field cutbacks.
“We wanted to get the game largely through the pain without too much damage,” Tew told journalists.
“If you wanted to make sure that the game stays alive during the worst recession that we’ve ever had, we believe these decisions were well considered.
“It (loss) is not a surprise, not a shock, but still a $NZ16 million ($A12.26 million) loss.”
The NZRU took the rare step of delving into its significant cash reserves, always an option in times of difficulty, helping prop up grassroots rugby and increasing player payments.
A key drop in income was recorded in the Test match budget, where $NZ4.2 million ($A3.22 million) less was earned than predicted.
The Test against Australia in Tokyo reaped considerably less than the budgeted venue of Denver which disappeared as an option when the US financial markets collapsed.
Crowd numbers were down at several home Test venues, most notably in Christchurch where a less than 17,000 people watched the All Blacks play Italy.
The high injury toll for senior players and All Blacks resulted in a $NZ2.7 million ($A2.07 million) budget blowout, with money funnelled into medical costs, replacement players and the subsequent rise in insurance premiums.
Injured All Blacks continue to get paid for 12 months after suffering injuries and a whopping 46 players wore the black jersey in 2009.
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