Title win fills IRFU coffers

The IRFU’s annual report was presented yesterday at the Aviva Stadium.

A sea of blazers in semi-circular formation; some navy, some bottle green, one black. A handful of beige and light-grey numbers, perhaps with a nod to the evening sunshine. The mood was good.

In an area high behind the Lansdowne Road south stand Tom Grace, the IRFU’s honorary treasurer, presented his report on the union’s finances for the 2013/14 season. A €7.3 million surplus was reported, an increase of €4.5m over their budget. That increase had helped to cover a reduction in revenues elsewhere, mostly in relation to sponsorship. Costs had been over budget by €900,000; this figure included emergency assistance for Connacht and, happily, player win bonuses relating to the Six Nations.

Ireland’s Six Nations triumph had given the coffers a very welcome bump. The IRFU budgets for a third place finish in the Six Nations, explained an IRFU spokesperson, who said that anything earned beyond that is profit to be pumped back into the domestic game. Ticket sales for the autumn international series had also improved. It was the first time Ireland had sold out an Australian match at Lansdowne Road, it seems, in a game under the IRFU’s auspices.

Grace highlighted the heavy dependence on the national team for revenue generation. He said the team generates 75% of the union’s income (associated broadcasting, sponsorship and gate monies as well as contributions from the IRB and the Lions) while taking up just 27% of the union’s annual costs. Of the remaining 25% of income, 19% comes from the provincial professional game.

“A word of caution,” said Grace, tempering the air of satisfaction with a treasurer’s natural conservatism. “Only time will tell what impact the new European competition structure will have on our teams and our competitors. At this stage we just don’t know,” said Grace.

Along with the restructuring of European revenues in favour of English and French clubs, the new smaller European Rugby Champions Cup will mean that Ireland will no longer be able to rely upon the same number of annual appearances in Europe’s premier club competition.

“We’ll have to work very closely together to make sure we remain competitive,” added Grace.

That kind of close co-operation will be under scrutiny in the coming months with Ireland assistant coach Les Kiss in temporary charge of Ulster until a replacement is found.

“Les’s first and primary role, come the end of September, will be with the national team,” said chief executive Philip Browne after the meeting.

Outgoing president Pat Fitzgerald spoke of his enjoyment of his time in the role and described the performance of the national team as “a shot in the arm for our game, generally”.

His successor is Louis Magee, grandson of the 1899 Irish Triple Crown-winning captain of the same name. IRFU president of 1993-94, Michael Cuddy, one of four previous presidents from Bective Rangers, had the honour of proposing fellow Bective man Magee as the 127th IRFU president and spoke of his respect for a family with whom he has been longtime friends.

In his first speech as in the role, Magee gave his support to the Ireland team travelling to Paris for the Women’s Rugby World Cup next month, wishing them luck.

Ireland, coached by Philip Doyle and captained by Fiona Coghlan, will play pool matches against the USA, 2010 champions New Zealand, and Kazakhstan. TG4 announced yesterday that it would be screening Ireland’s games live, as well as the semi-finals and final.