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Rugby Australia (RA) has gone all in, on the British and Irish Lions tour to kickstart a new era of financial stability and on-field resurgence. The 2024 Annual General Meeting, held in Sydney, laid bare a challenging 12 months; but also a roadmap to what RA believes will be a golden decade.
A $36.8 million deficit for the financial year might seem alarming on paper, but RA's leadership insists the red ink is part of a deliberate strategy to reset the code. Major costs included takeovers of the Waratahs and Brumbies, exiting the Melbourne Rebels, and lacklustre series against Georgia and Wales. Instead of chasing private equity, RA took out an $80 million credit facility last year to front-load investment and now the silver lining of the 2025 Lions tour, 2027 World Cup and 2029 Women’s World Cup are tipped to open a commercial goldmine.
“The pathway to a prosperous future is clear,” said RA CEO Phil Waugh. “This was a year of building the foundation. The big payoffs start now.”
The centrepiece of that payoff is the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour, which is on track to break attendance records with over 500,000 tickets already projected to be sold. RA expects it to generate a record surplus that could allow them to exit the Pacific Equity Partners facility early and re-establish long-term financial independence.
It’s the first in a string of high-stakes events. In 2026, RA kicks off a lucrative five-year broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment, worth up to $240 million—a 40% jump from the current rights cycle. Then come the big ones: the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029, followed by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. It’s a calendar few other codes can match.
“This is a once-in-a-generation runway of opportunity,” said Waugh. “But it only pays off if we’ve done the work upfront and that’s what 2024 was about.”
That work wasn’t cheap. The Waratahs-Brumbies integration cost $10.3 million. The Melbourne Rebels' voluntary administration and exit from Super Rugby added $5.1 million more. Meanwhile, RA ramped up spending on women's rugby by $2.5 million and gave the Reds and Force a funding boost. All told, $9.4 million went to servicing the credit facility and depreciation alone.
Yet the results are already showing signs of traction. Player participation jumped 15% year-on-year, surpassing pre-COVID levels. School rugby rose 26%, helped by the rollout of Tri Tag Rugby. Coaches and referees also increased significantly, and community grants were up across the board.
Chairman Daniel Herbert called 2024 a “transformative year” and credited the reset with “changing the trajectory of Australian Rugby.”
On the field, the Wallabies posted a 24% year-on-year increase in their win rate, helping to push Stan Sport viewership of the Autumn Nations Series up 40% compared to 2022. More than 275,000 fans attended Wallabies or Wallaroos Tests in Australia, with the men averaging crowds of 44,000.
The Wallaroos broke new ground by winning the WXV2 title and qualifying for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. Their success came on the back of targeted investment in coaching and player contracting. Off the field, the women’s program saw a 170% surge in social media engagement, contributing to an overall 16% growth across RA's digital channels.
In Sevens, the Australian women claimed the SVNS championship in Madrid, while the men secured their best Olympic result yet. Australia was the only country to make both the men’s and women’s semi-finals at the Paris Games; a feat that quietly signals elite depth returning across formats.
Governance also saw a changing of the guard. Nathan Sharpe, former Wallabies lock and Western Force foundation captain, has been appointed RA President, succeeding Joe Roff. Sharpe brings corporate experience alongside his on-field credentials, with senior roles at Brunel and now Talisman.
Two new board directors also join: Kathleen Bozanic, a former IGO Ltd CFO with deep ties to Rugby WA, and Louise Higgins, a strategy and data lead at ANZ with prior executive experience at Suncorp. Their arrival reflects RA’s push to modernise governance while maintaining strong links to the grassroots.
The underlying message from the AGM was clear: 2024 was about cleaning house. Now, the focus is on capitalising. “The real test begins now,” said Herbert. “We've laid the groundwork. The next step is converting that into performance, growth and sustainability.”
That test starts with the Lions and runs straight into a home World Cup. If RA can ride the momentum without stumbling, the future could be as bright as they promise. But this is Australian rugby. Promising dawns have turned cloudy before. Still, for the first time in years, there’s a sense the sport might be playing the long game and playing it well.