Backed by S$1m investment, Singapore Rugby plans to fly solo

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) is set to be a trailblazer for national sports associations (NSAs) here, as it makes a bold move towards financial independence from the government by 2022.

While the Singapore Bowling Federation had previously announced similar ambitions with the opening of its bowling centre in 2015, the SRU — which currently receives about S$1 million in annual grants from Sport Singapore — is joining the race to become the first NSA to attain financial independence.

Rugby’s governing body has every reason to be bullish about its goal after its events and commercial arm, Rugby Singapore, received a S$1 million investment from a foreign company.

TODAY understands that the investor is French-based firm ScoreXV, a sports marketing agency led by its associate director Claude Atcher.

Atcher, who is also director of France’s bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and executive adviser to the Japan Rugby Football Union, is also the chief operating officer of Rugby Singapore.

While the three-year partnership will see ScoreXV receiving 25 per cent of profits from the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, SRU president Low Teo Ping said the investor will not have any equity in Rugby Singapore.

The S$1 million investment, coupled with a six-figure profit from the inaugural Singapore Sevens last year, has given Low confidence that the SRU will be able to fly solo financially.

“We were very pleased with the first year (of the Singapore Sevens), and with the forecast for the second year, I’m pretty confident that within five years the SRU will be well-funded by Rugby Singapore,” said Low in a media briefing at Pan Pacific Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 25). “Hopefully, in five years, we will have a seven-figure profit (for the Singapore Sevens). Within five years, the SRU can wean itself off government grants.”

This year’s Singapore Sevens is also on track to hit its ticket sales target of 30,000 tournament passes.

With less than three months to the April 15-16 event at the National Stadium, Rugby Singapore revealed on Wednesday that it had sold 15,000 passes to date, with all S$300 Platinum (reserved seats with food and beverage privileges), and S$40 Category Two passes already sold out. Fifty per cent of the S$200 Premium passes have also been sold.

The 2016 Singapore Sevens saw just under 50,000 spectators filling the National Stadium over two days, with the final between Kenya and Fiji drawing a crowd of 27,370.

Event organisers are targeting a two-day total of 60,000 people for this year’s tournament, which will feature Olympic champions Fiji, as well as fan favourites New Zealand, South Africa and Japan.

Aside from its fun zones and fringe activities such as the South-east Asia Sevens tournament and Midnight Sevens for local clubs, babysitting services will also be offered this year to attract more families to the event.

The SRU is also hopeful that the national Sevens rugby side will give fans more to cheer about in 2022 as Team Singapore makes a bid to join the 16-team roster at the Singapore Sevens. To that end, Low said the SRU will be unveiling plans next month that will allow its national players to train full-time and play competitively.

Fans could also see the Rugby World Cup Sevens, hosted here as the SRU mulls over a bid for future editions of the marquee tournament.

Added Low: “We are definitely focusing on four particular strengths, one of which is to play good rugby. I don’t think we have been playing good enough rugby so that’s one, we’ll be going into leadership, strong governance and event strategy.

“Hopefully SRU will be able to live up to its aim of wanting to develop the sport and bring glory to Singapore.”