Rugby Australia pin hopes on British and Irish Lions tour after £17.6m loss

Rugby Australia (RA) reported a A$36.80m (£17.6m) loss for 2024 on Wednesday, pinning their hopes on the summer's British and Irish Lions tour, live on Sky Sports.

The hefty loss comes in the wake of a 2023 in which the union suffered a A$9.2m (£4.4m) deficit as the Wallabies exited the Rugby World Cup in France at the pool stage - the first time Australia has ever failed to make a World Cup quarter-final.

The loss for 2024 also surpasses the A$27.1m (£12.9m) deficit for 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Rugby Australia made great progress in 2024 towards building a sustainable, thriving model for Australian Rugby," CEO Phil Waugh said in a statement.

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"There is still much to do but the pathway to a prosperous future is clear."

Integrating two loss-making Super Rugby clubs in the Brumbies and Waratahs into Rugby Australia's management and propping up the now defunct Melbourne Rebels before their administration were two further areas identified by Waugh where significant sums were invested and lost.

RA said it spent more than A$10m (£4.8m) integrating the Canberra-based Brumbies and Sydney-based Waratahs and more than A$5m (£2.4m) on the Rebels.

RA pulled its support from the indebted Rebels at the end of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, leaving Australia with four professional rugby teams.

It was also revealed more than A$9m (£4.3m) was paid to service an A$80m (£38.2m) loan taken out with a private lender in 2023.

Waugh said RA was forecasting a record surplus in 2025 on the back of the Lions tour, which should give it the option of exiting the A$80m (£38.2m) loan.

The governing body then enters a new broadcasting deal with Nine Entertainment from 2026 on better terms than the previous deal.

Waugh also said RA had decided on a successor for highly-regarded Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and hoped to announce it imminently.

Australian media have tipped Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss to replace Schmidt, who is stepping down after the 2025 Rugby Championship.

"We want to give clarity to the Australian public and we are working as quickly as we can. The next coach will lead us into a home Rugby World Cup in 2027," said Waugh.

British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.