ACT Brumbies bosses Phil Thomson and Matt Nobbs open up on COVID-19, finances and the future

"There were times there when you were thinking, 'is this sustainable?'" the ACT Brumbies chief executive said.

The Canberra Times sat down with Thomson and Brumbies chairman Matt Nobbs this week to take an in-depth look at the Super Rugby Pacific club's future on and off the field.

In the first of a two-part series, Thomson and Nobbs lay bare the challenge ahead for a club preparing to see its Rugby Australia funding slashed by 30 per cent next year - and why they believe they have found the model to secure the club's future in Canberra despite the challenging landscape brought on by COVID-19.

Few could have imagined the chain of events that would unfold when COVID-19 crept onto our shores.

The Brumbies left the field at Canberra Stadium on March 15 2020, and they had no idea when they would be back. Unwittingly, we had witnessed the end of Super Rugby as we knew it.

"It was pretty dire straits in that first three or four months when it first hit," Thomson said.

MORE RUGBY UNION

"Nobody knew, in any of the sports, how it was going to affect our financial position through broadcast revenue, through our memberships, gates, attendances, all those things. It had a huge impact on your bottom line. There were times there when you were thinking 'is this sustainable?'

"[The toughest thing] has probably been the uncertainty on a number of fronts. It impacted the people, the business, the financial position. You get through a year of it and you think 'it can't happen again', and then it happens again the next year. Now we're looking at it again, we've got a high rate of double vaccination and we've still got issues.

"Hopefully we can get on with life and business as normal as possible, as soon as possible. It's already put a lot of people out of business and we'll be no different if it continues."

Thomson refuses to sugarcoat it. A modest profit doesn't mean the Brumbies are "on easy street".

The Brumbies posted a $200,000 profit this year as club bosses renegotiated a 30-year lease with the University of Canberra to generate cash flow but the road ahead is challenging.

"We're projecting a fairly big loss for next year and that will flow onto the following years on the back of funding reductions and other pieces of our business model. That's why we have to look at where we can inject some additional capital into the business," Thomson said.

"Because we've announced a modest profit this year, it doesn't mean things are flush or that we're on easy street. It's going to be a very challenging 2022 and beyond."

Nobbs said: "We're an organisation that has gone from year to year. Something that came out of COVID was looking at the business financially. A lot of reporting went back to RA, some reporting went back to the ACT government.

"Rather than just look 12 months ahead, we were able to project through to 2025 and in some cases 2027, which in many ways did us a favour. When we were looking at those numbers we were thinking 'we've got some work ahead of us'. That's why we've instigated these early discussions with venture capital funding to fill that hole."

The Brumbies have launched talks with a firm to inject much-needed capital into the club, with Thomson and Nobbs adamant the club must investigate private equity and partnership options to ensure its survival.

"It's something we have to seriously consider for the long-term financial viability here of the organisation," Thomson said. "We want the Brumbies to be here long-term, and to be able to run the business, we've got to have the finances to run the business."

Nobbs said: "We've initiated very early discussions with a firm that specialise in that sort of area. We're hoping to progress those discussions early in the new year.

"When you're talking capital raising, raising funds, there is a question of ownership. We'll be very transparent with our members in saying 'you're coming along with us on the journey'. We've got to have those sort of conversations.

"When you look at it going into next year, the impact of COVID has had on all business, we're yet to find out but will that affect crowds? Will people have that disposable income to come to the games? Our sponsorship, will it affect that long-term? It's about how businesses rebound after the impact of what they've been through."

The Brumbies are on the hunt for a new major sponsor for the 2022 season with Plus500's deal expiring, and the COVID-19 landscape means some businesses are less likely to splash cash for prime real estate on a Super Rugby jersey.

"We've had a number of discussions and we're in discussions at the moment. We're hopeful to hear something in the near future," Thomson said. "It is a pretty tough landscape at the moment. All the rugby teams are finding it hard at the moment to secure sponsorship."

A mooted centralised model for Rugby Australia, which would see the governing body oversee all coaching appointments and player signings, has been championed as the code's biggest change since going professional.

But talks have been paused with the country's Super Rugby clubs seeking more detail about what it means for their future.

"There is a lot more detail the Super Rugby clubs need to know and understand around what they're talking about and how it will affect us on a day-to-day operational basis," Thomson said. "There will be discussions in the new year as to what the structure of the high performance program and strategy is for Rugby Australia through to 2027."

The Brumbies have stability. That much cannot be underestimated in the midst of the pandemic.

Thomson has re-signed until the end of 2024, Nobbs will stand for a further two years, and Stephen Larkham has signed a two-year deal to replace coach Dan McKellar from 2023.

Now the club's supremos have "a clear runway" to secure the Brumbies' financial future.

"We've ticked a lot of boxes and got them out of the way so it's given us a clear runway to concentrate on the financial aspect of the business. Signing Phil for another three years, getting Bernie done, the roster is solid, certainly we'll be concentrating on that aspect of the business," Nobbs said.

Thomson said: "We know it's going to be a challenging couple of years ahead of us but we know what has got to be done. We've been through some tough times but now we know what we've got to do to ensure we've got that model right."

Part two of our look at the Brumbies' future will feature in Sunday's edition of The Canberra Times.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: