New Zealand Rugby is facing a potential $130 million loss in budgeted revenues if the 2020 season doesn’t resume amid the global coronavirus outbreak.
The figure was outlined by NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson to all provincial unions and Super Rugby franchises during a conference call earlier this week.
Fears were raised during the call that the next quarterly payment from NZR to its provincial unions was ‘at risk after it was revealed that the governing body will need financial assistance from the government to help recover from the effects of coronavirus.
The organisation has moved to reduce pay for its employees and has effectively frozen its budget for the foreseeable future. It is believed New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association and NZR are currently locked in negotiations about a possible player pay cut.
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‘We’re fighting for sport’s survival in New Zealand around rugby, and if you can’t get motivated by that challenge and the opportunity that sits beyond that then we’ll never be motivated,’ Robinson said.
‘It’s creating anxiety in our game at all levels, from our clubs and community level and into our professional ranks.
‘We’ve just got to take a little more time to understand the information we have to gather and then we’ll be in a position hopefully early next week to start making some decisions and giving a bit more direction and certainty to people. A hell of a lot of work is going on in the background.’
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