FRU expected to net $7 million surplus from UK-hosted Nations Championship Tests

Risk taken by the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) board of directors to host the Flying Fijians three Test matches of the inaugural Nations Championship in the United Kingdom (UK) has paid off.

Speaking to SUNsports yesterday FRU board chairman John Sanday said based on current projections of the initial business case prepared for the three home match project in the UK, they are on track to overperform and surpass their projected return on investment (ROI).

“Now that we have completed the three games, we are looking at a total revenue of just over $10 million,” Sanday said.

“To deliver all these three games plus the entertainment package around it, we had to invest or outlay around $3m. That gives us a projected cash surplus of around $7m. This has been an outstanding success from a commercial point of view. For an investment of $3m we have returned a surplus of $7m, that is very, very healthy ROI.”

He highlighted that they would present the detailed accounts, which may vary a little on the upside from the general numbers he had presented.

Sanday said their finance team under the very capable and astute leadership its director Anare Manulevu, have performed very admirably under the tough circumstances and tight cash flow environment they had to work with.

He expressed his gratitude to the team at Rugby House- chief executive officer, senior managers, trustees and the board- for their stewardship and strength of character throughout the lead-up period.

“It was very tough and we had to stay up late on most nights to work through the various issues and challenges. Our biggest accolade must go to director Lailanie Burnes and her small team of volunteers. They had to endure six months ofliving in a campervan under a shoestring budget to deliver three world class games that the rugby world is still raving about,” Sanday added.