World Cup finances are boost to IRB

THE 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand is poised to be confirmed as the second-most financially successful event in the tournament’s 25-year history, despite the global economic situation.

The International Rugby Board have announced the World Cup is on track to achieve a net surplus of £90million, £10m above what was originally forecast. The tournament attracted gross commercial revenues of £142m, which were within three per cent of the total achieved for the record-breaking 2007 World Cup in France. The World Cup is the IRB’s single biggest revenue raiser and the world governing body are committed to investing £150m across all 117 member unions up to 2015.

The IRB will help deliver a full schedule of June tournaments and November Tests for tier two nations and invest £6.3m to assist’s Argentina’s entry into the Rugby Championship along side New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

New Zealand sold 1.35m tickets to pass their £140m target and more than 133,000 supporters travelled to New Zealand, nearly double the forecast. The tournament is estimated to have boosted economic activity in New Zealand by more than £260m. Results are expected to confirmed within the next week.