Australian Rugby Records A$19.5M Profit In 2013, Aided By British & Irish Lions Return

The Australian Rugby Union announced a A$19.5M surplus for '13. The season was spurred by the return of the British & Irish Lions to Australia, increased participation and a new head coach for the Wallabies. ARU Chair Michael Hawker said, "The British & Irish Tour generated a significant surplus for us in 2013 and will help steer Australian Rugby towards future success on and off the field." The tour generated A$35M. Participation increased by 27.5% in '13 compared to '12, with a total of 615,809 people across Australia participating in rugby. The popularity of Rugby Sevens grew, with participation up 40.7% in '13 from '12, taking the total number of participants nationally to a record 54,687. The incremental profit generated by the British & Irish Lions Tour was offset by operating deficits of around A$8M from other ordinary business; A$5.5M in financial assistance provided to the Melbourne Rebels during the year; and an additional A$2M investment in Sevens program expenditure (ARU).