SARU president Mark Alexander.
Image: Backpagepix
The adage “everyone loves a winner” is neatly reflected in the Springbok team drawing record sponsorship revenue in 2025, enabling SA Rugby to pour record amounts into the various national teams.
This was the good news from the governing body’s AGM, which was held in Cape Town on Thursday, May 14.
Sponsorship revenue jumped by 51 percent from R488m to R739m to exceed broadcast revenues of R678m for the first time.
Revenues were also boosted by a change in the Test match hosting model, through which SA Rugby took ownership and delivery of Springbok matches (at the cost of the provincial unions). This yielded R402m in revenues with a match day cost of R213m.
SA Rugby also enjoyed a significant growth in merchandise sales through the opening of two Springbok stores, resulting in royalty revenue of R78m.
SA Rugby spent a quarter of its total income directly on the Springboks, Springbok Women, Springboks Sevens, Junior Boks, and other national teams in 2025.
SA Rugby’s group revenues increased by 29 percent from R1.5bn in 2024 to R2bn in 2025, with R500m spent directly on the Springboks (R281m) and the High-Performance Department (R221m), into which all other national teams fall.
CEO Rian Oberholzer said that the investment had borne on-field dividends with the Springboks’ continued success mirrored by other national teams.
The Blitzboks won the HSBC SVNS World Championship in 2025 (and have extended that success into 2026), while the Junior Springboks won the U20 world title for the first time in 13 years in 2025, and claimed the U20 Rugby Championship title for the first time last week.
It was also a breakthrough year for the Springbok Women as they reached the play-off stages of the World Cup for the first time and broke into the world’s top ten.
Despite the jump in revenues, SA Rugby still ended the year reporting a pre-taxation loss for the group of R40m, highlighting the ongoing challenges towards long-term solvency; challenges reported by all Unions in the world.
Despite the loss, the accounts support the view that SA Rugby could continue as a going concern into the foreseeable future.
Mark Alexander, president of SARU, said: “SA Rugby has demonstrated its resilience in a challenging operating environment for many years — especially through COVID — and we have taken deliberate steps to future-proof our financial sustainability, such as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour and the Nations Championship.
“A return to sustainable profitability is within reach.”