Munster in the red as World Cup hits gates

Munster Rugby is likely to post its first financial loss in six years this season — but the bottom line won’t be made worse by Sunday’s shock Heineken Cup quarter-final loss at Thomond Park, says chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald.

He said yesterday that the province was set for a “relatively small deficit”, confirming it would be a six-figure sum.

Unexpectedly lowattendances at RaboDirect games during the World Cup last autumn, increased bank interest rates on the loan on Thomond Park and the absence of any revenue-generating concert at the stadium this year hit the province, said Fitzgerald.