The WRU insists Welsh rugby is “living beyond its means” and cannot go on sustaining such losses.
The official accounts for the past financial year are expected to be lodged with companies house on Friday but have already been shared with clubs.
The WRU’s audited annual report for the 2023 financial year showed new profit and loss figures for the previous two years, with the loss in 2023 re-listed as £14m up from £4.9m – although the profit in 2022 now stood at £37.3m rather than £2.9m.
Since that re-audited positive 2022 figure, the financial situation has continued to decline.
When former WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and a new board took charge at the start of 2024, he admitted the finances were “a mess”.
In an interview with the BBC the following year he revealed the extent of the problem, saying that “in January 2024 the WRU had run out of money – we were up against our overdraft limit”.
The WRU had taken out an £18m Covid support loan from the Welsh government in 2022, for which it subsequently appealed for an improvement in terms.
But Marshall oversaw a new £55m debt-refinancing package that was agreed in January 2026 – via banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs – that was designed to see the Welsh government loan and a separate commercial loan paid off.
In the past few years, the Union has also paid out £1.9m to departing employees, as well as keeping Cardiff afloat since taking over the struggling region in April 2025.
The WRU will struggle to avoid the accusation from west Wales that the regions threatened with closure – Ospreys and Scarlets – are paying the price for the WRU’s financial performance.
“We have a lot of costs, including the stadium [£26m], the national teams [£20m], interest on our loan [£3m], funding community rugby [£4m],” said Marshall.
“That leaves about £20m to invest in professional rugby but at the moment we’re funding £26m across the four clubs. From a financial perspective, we just can’t afford that.
“We need to grow revenue but also sensibly manage our costs, investments and distribution of funds.
“We could have as many clubs as you want but it’s how you fund those clubs, how competitive they can be with that funding and how much benefactor funding goes into the clubs. At the moment we’re not sustainable.”