Malcolm Gillies: Hurricanes Co-Owner on the report on Super Rugby's viability, funding issues, potential for privatisation

A Super Rugby team owner believes a damning report into the competition's viability is further proof a new financial structure is needed. 

A Deloitte document claims no franchise would have been profitable on a stand-alone basis since 2019, without New Zealand Rugby funding. 

Hurricanes co-owner Malcolm Gillies has been an advocate for privatisation, telling Mike Hosking they must adapt. 

He says they’re outgrowing the model, and they have to look collectively at how they can get it to produce players of quality, but at the same time it needs to stand on its own. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Deloitte report out this morning lays by the super Rugby story.
All five operations have been cumulatively unprofitable. With out New
Zealand Rugby funding. Average crowds are down twenty five percent.
They say within five years they could lose a combined
twenty million bucks. Now. Malcolm Gillies is the Hurricanes co owner,
of course and chairman. He's back. Well, there's Malcolm. Morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning, mikee.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Is there a huge variation between the clubs and what
they earn and don't earn? No, so basically everyone's in stock.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
No. I wouldn't necessarily say that, Mike. I mean the
way the model is at the moment is you basically
need to win the competition and that's you know, and
if you don't then obviously it's a lot more difficult.
But I think what we're looking at here is this
report was a based around basically coming up with a
compelling argument for change that everyone could agree on, and

(00:51):
then having a look at the model and looking to
see how you can make the model work better so
that we can get private investment there.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Right, Why am I in there as a private investor?
Why are you? And are you in to make money,
or because you love the gamer a bit of both.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
I got them because I love the game, and you know,
because I'm in business, I could see that you know,
this is there needed to be changed to make the
thing work and attract further investment. I mean, you wouldn't
invest in it as an investor, right You're basically the
way it's structured, and part of this whole report is
about how do we put it, get it in a

(01:30):
position where people will invest in it. And I think
that if you look at that report, there's a really
compelling argument. I believe all the super clubs, all the
stakeholders realize Super Rugby is important. But the model, we're
just out roll in the model, and now we've got
to we know, we've got to look at collectively how
we can get that model to produce black ferns and

(01:52):
all blacks and you know, Wallaby players of quality. And
at the same time it's got to stand on its own.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Would you could you sell it? The reason I asked
this question, as you will have heard, the Lakers this
week got sold for twelve billion or valued up at
twelve billion. Liverpool has been sold. If you flecked your
stake is that worth something and therefore that value is
increasing and we don't worry about the bottom line year
and year out or are they both in trouble?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
No, Look, I believe right now it would be very
difficult to attract sensible investment because of the actual model.
All right, Once we can change that model, then you
will get the investment into it, you'll get private equity
coming back into it. At the moment, we're just you know,
we've got to restructure it.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
And are you going to And is everyone on the
same page or is this fraud?

Speaker 2 (02:43):
No? I reckon. Everyone is very very positive. Everyone agrees
that it needs to change. And I think, you know,
we've got some good player, you know, really clever people
involved the clubs are one hundred percent behind the fact that,
you know, we do need to change. We haven't actually

(03:04):
got to the point where we've got a model that
we can all debate and agree on. But we're moving
forward with that and I think everyone, all the stakeholders,
the Rugby, the Players Association, all the clubs understand we've
got to do something. And I think everyone, from my experience,
is very positive about moving forward and coming up with
a solution.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
I hope that's the case, Malcolm. Listen. Good to talk
to you as always, Malcolm Gillies, Hurricanes co owner and chairman.
Remember John Hart offered me a slice of the blues
one day in Newmarket, Which bit which bit of them?
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