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The precarious state of English rugby clubs’ finances has been laid bare by a new report warning that seven of ten Premiership clubs are balance sheet insolvent.
An in-depth study by insolvency firm Leonard Curtis assessing the financial viability of members of England’s elite has found that only Leicester, Northampton and Gloucester would be viable businesses without the support of wealthy benefactors.
The analysis, reported in The guardian, comes from the latest publicly available and audited financial figures from the 2022/23 season, a campaign in which London Irish, Wasps and Worcester all folded after entering administration. Championship side Jersey Reds also ceased operations last year.
Neither Premiership Rugby nor the Rugby Football Union (RFU) were involved in the report, which revealed clubs collectively lost more than £30 million in 2022/23. Overall net debts within the league stand at £311 million.
Former England flanker James Haskell has warned the sport is “heading towards a precipice”.
“Now is a line-in-the-sand moment where all the bluster and bravado about the way rugby is doing has to stop,” said Haskell, who won 77 international caps and played club rugby in England , in New Zealand and France.
“To me, rugby seems to believe that it’s just because we’ve always done it a certain way, when it’s clear that unless a radical change happens, our game is heading towards a very untenable position in the future We say we are professional but in my humble opinion we are far from it and sometimes resemble the Wild West.
“I don’t have a vested interest, but I saw firsthand, between the ages of 16 and 35, the mistakes made in this sport and how poorly things are done in almost every aspect.
“Rugby is heading towards the precipice. I think they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with some rule changes they are trying to introduce. I tell you now, there are warning signs everywhere. If I were a rugby player, I would be terrified by this report.
All Premiership clubs rely on the support of their owners to survive. Nine clubs have suffered losses of more than £1 million in the 2022/23 campaign.
It is a model that also exists across the Channel in France, even if the television revenues of the Top 14 and Pro D2 are clearly higher than those of the English elite. The Premiership’s new deal with TNT Sports is worth less than the previous rights deal.
The renegotiated Professional Game Partnership (PGP), agreed with the RFU, guarantees Premiership clubs £3.3m of funding from English rugby’s governing body. Steps have also been taken at a number of clubs to reduce their wage bills this season, despite the league salary cap rising to £6.4m this season.
