It is with the spectre of financial collapse looming large for some of their well-established affiliates that World Rugby will hold crunch meetings in Dublin this week.
The game's suits have much to pore over, but it is the financial dire straits that afflict some of their tier-one members that will drive the debate.
The game's sustainability is in question with delegates likely to look for new, or different, revenue streams to mitigate for the shortfalls the game has been experiencing in recent times.
Broadcast revenue remains the lifeblood of the sport, but that platform is now encased by scaffolding, pointing to deep structural change within. Broadcasters simply don't pay as much for content as they used to and increasingly they want more bang for their buck . An endless stream of players running into each other at breakneck speed is what their executives crave, and the game's administrators, with player wellbeing an ever bigger obligation, have to walk a tightrope between appeasing the game's funders and its most valuable commodity.
Rugby is in no position to tell traditional broadcasters to take a hike, and they find themselves at a juncture where they have to consolidate as much as they develop a clear vision of the game's future.
While World Rugby has been able to generate large sums of money from their marquee events and the game's participation numbers are on the increase, their affiliates are struggling to make ends meet.
With revenue pipes choked, costs have gone up. SA Rugby often points out that the price of an airline ticket to Europe is now three times what it was pre-pandemic.
The stark reality rugby is facing is that all 12 tier one nations are feeling the pinch. Even the most influential federations are not immune to the prevailing currents which have seen many federations treading water.
Despite hosting last year's Rugby World Cup, France has recorded a €90m loss. Ireland, Scotland, Italy, England and New Zealand are also in the red, while Australia is on the brink of financial collapse. South Africa showed a small profit, but margins are tight and they have no cash reserves.
They are hoping their yet-to-be finalised equity deal with the AckerleyGroup will allow them to bank money for a rainy day. The reality, however, is there are not enough brollies doing the rounds.
Federations will argue they should more actively participate in the riches World Rugby events such as the Rugby World Cup have to offer. Federations are not allowed to have sponsors on their team jerseys for the global spectacle but they want that stumbling block removed.
National federations can no longer confront these issues in isolation and some solutions will have to be found as a collective.
Federations will argue they should more actively participate in the riches World Rugby events such as the Rugby World Cup have to offer. Federations are not allowed to have sponsors on their team jerseys for the global spectacle, but they want that stumbling block removed.
Equally, talk of a salary player cap may draw a harmonious hum from federations, but that would not necessarily be music to the ears of club owners in France and corporations in Japan.
Federations need to develop revenues streams that will sustain their rugby programmes and all who exist in them. Those who have spent without paying due attention to their income streams are in peril.
Australia is in real danger of becoming a poster child for rugby’s current financial malaise. The collapse of Rugby Australia is a prospect too ghastly to contemplate, and World Rugby approved them a loan, while two further bank loans have also served to ease the immediate pain Down Under.
The tour of the British & Irish Lions there next year and the 2027 Rugby World Cup in that country will also boost their coffers, but as France discovered, hosting rights don't translate into the ching of the cash register.
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