Rugby: €85.7m in turnover and a net profit of €1.2m for the Irish Rugby Football Union in 2017-18

Irish Rugby Football Union, the Irish rugby federation, posted a net profit of €1.2m for the 2017-18 financial year, according to the IRFU on 13/07/2018. "After posting a €2.8m loss for 2016-17, the IRFU forecast it would not return to break-even until 2018-19," added the body.

"In one of the most successful seasons ever recorded for Irish teams, IRFU revenues rose by €9.1m (to over €85.7m) with €6.3m of this increase attributable to the international team and €2m derived from provincial team activities. Expenditure at national team and provincial level increased to over €42m inclusive of bonuses payable to players for international and provincial success," continued the IRFU.

"The IRFU had budgeted for a deficit of over €4m for the 2017-18 season, due to the anticipated net costs of hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup (in Ireland) and the bid to host Rugby World Cup 2023 (awarded to France) together with increasing the investment in the domestic game and the player development pathway. However, the Grand Slam win for Ireland's men, Champions Cup glory for Leinster and the…