The WRU Group Annual Report published today reveals record levels of funding were re-invested in the game in Wales throughout the last financial year with a total of £17.0m committed to sustain and develop our national sport.
The total was £1.8m up on the record levels of the previous year and therefore represents a major boost for the elite and community game across Wales.
In YE09 a sum of £12.1m was allocated to the four Regional organisations which was up from £11.4m the previous year.
The community game received £3.8m which was an increase of £1.0m over the prior year.
The WRU emerged from the year with a Group turnover of £49.4m which was down £0.9m on the previous year.
The level of funding delivered directly to rugby was achieved because the Group ended YE09 recording with a profit before interest, tax, depreciation, exceptional items and funding allocations of £24.5m which was an increase of 4% or £0.9m on the previous year.
As a result of the refinancing undertaken in May 2008, interest costs reduced from £2.8m to £2.5m
The final pre-tax profit for YE09 stood at £1.7m with a post tax amount of £1.0m.
The overall bank debt of the WRU was reduced in YE09 by £2.1m and now stands at £39.7m.
The Welsh Rugby Union today said the level of funding was fully in line with its strategy of ensuring the game is properly supported to encourage the sustainability and development of the national sport of Wales at all levels.
In the Annual Report the Welsh Rugby Union Group hails the year as a success with the announcement of landmark projects, rugby initiatives and important victories.
A new chapter in Welsh rugby history was written by the Wales Sevens squad which returned home from Dubai as World Champions after winning the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament.
The senior Wales team recorded a victory over Australia which made them the only northern hemisphere international team to beat a SANZAR nation last autumn.
Warren Gatland’s Wales team went on to deliver another strong performance in the RBS 6 Nations championship with their position in the rankings finally decided in the closing stages of the last match against Ireland.
One clear indication of the continuing success of the Welsh squad was the selection of some fifteen players and seven coaches or backroom staff for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa and winger Shane Williams lifted the IRB World Player of the Year trophy.
At Regional level, the Cardiff Blues lifted the EDF Energy Cup and reached the semi final stages of the Heineken Cup to mark another landmark season at the top level of the game in Wales outside international rugby.
The Wales Women’s team achieved their first ever Triple Crown which meant they recorded their first ever victory over the powerful England team.
Off the field the WRU announced a £1.5m investment in a state of the art National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort which will be completed by this autumn.
The landmark project was achieved with the financial support of the Sports Council for Wales and the WRU expressed its gratitude to the Welsh father and son entrepreneurs Gerald and Stephen Leeke for their help in realising the scheme.
It will be one of world rugby’s finest training facilities and is set to become the home of the Wales senior squad and all the international pathway teams across the age grades and the Women’s game.
To bolster the development pathway during the year the Principality Premiership was enhanced with inclusion in the new British and Irish Cup and the announcement of a new end of season league play-off structure.
In north Wales, important strides were taken in the work to establish the area as a development region with Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay announced as the new home of representative rugby in the north with support from Conwy County Borough Council.
The appointment of Joe Lydon as WRU Head of Rugby Performance and Development heralded a series of appointments and initiatives to strengthen and refine all the player and coach development pathway structures.
At the Millennium Stadium itself the sporting success was complemented with showcase concerts by Madonna, Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen along with speedway, show-jumping for the first time and the dynamic big truck spectacular called Monster Jam.
The Group Chief Executive of the WRU, Roger Lewis, said: “It’s been a very positive year in what has undoubtedly been one of the most economically turbulent periods of recent times.
“What has driven such a success has been the hard work and planning which we have carried out over the past three years aimed at creating sustainability for the business both on and off the field.
“It is a tribute to everyone at the WRU and the Millennium Stadium for delivering these results to assist and encourage the tremendous amount of work done by everyone involved in the wider game across Wales.
“Like any business we have to be driven by the content we produce and underpinning these Annual Report figures is the fact that Welsh rugby is now enjoying rude health.
“A winning Wales is at the centre of our focus and we currently have a successful team being developed by one of the best available coaching and backroom structures based at one of the finest training facilities in rugby.
“The team is playing a positive brand of rugby and the aura that our National Team creates is reflected in the success of our Invesco Perpetual autumn series at the Millennium Stadium and the Six Nations with some 428,000 supporters at the home games. The attendances at the Invesco Perpetual Series were a record 279,000.
“During the year the Welsh Rugby Union was voted the best governing body in world rugby and in addition to the game we boasted a wide and successful range of events and concerts at the Stadium.
“I am very grateful to all the teams on and off the field who have driven this year’s figures and I must pay a particular thanks to our Group Finance Director, Steve Phillips, for his tremendous efforts in restructuring the financial operation of the Group.
“It is also important I record my gratitude to the late Mike Jefferies, our Head of Legal Affairs who died at the weekend after a short but serious illness.
“Mike was not only a great friend to me but was also an incredibly hard working and talented lawyer who fundamentally transformed the legal awareness of the Group by instilling a level of integrity and responsibility which gave us the confidence to steer the business properly and professionally.
“The outlook now for the Group is positive and we will continue to invest in the development of the game at all levels.
“That means we will drive forward playing standards and maximise participation at the community level to fuel our player and coach development pathway structures.
“To help us achieve that we will also continue to further develop our support for the development of the game across North Wales.
“We will continue to improve our world class facilities and invest in the infrastructure of the Millennium Stadium which is now celebrating its tenth anniversary.
“A priority is to develop a closer working relationship with our Regions and the Principality Premiership clubs.
“We want to continue to invest more in Regional rugby and we want to work with the Regions to create the best environment for the game to flourish.
“There is a lot of hard work ahead but I am confident we are now in the right shape as a business to meet the challenges and take full advantage of all the opportunities we have identified in our five year strategic plan for the future.”
The Group Finance Director, Steve Phillips, added: “Along with investing in the strategic and operational priorities the Group has controlled costs and spending levels.
“A lot of strategic thought has gone into our financial priorities and, for instance, we have not rushed to clear debt as quickly as possible as sometimes happens but are managing it as a tool of the business.
“The Group has benefitted form the terms of refinancing completed in May 2008 and although the economic environment has been challenging, the report shows an overall improvement in our financial performance. We are now subject to commercial banking covenants and our aim, subject to the terms of those covenants, is to reinvest as much as possible in Welsh rugby”
A significant change within the year was the move away from the programme income contribution to the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust. However, this year we have donated £100,000 to this organisation which supports seriously injured rugby players in Wales.
The WRU Annual Report has today been circulated to all its member clubs and affiliated organisations and will be presented to the Annual General Meeting later this month.
