New Zealand Rugby announced yesterday it was making grants of $250,000 to each of the five NZ franchises, which are under severe financial pressures.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark said the money was greatly appreciated.
"We are like every other business. When the revenue dries up because you have not got a product, then you can go through money pretty quickly," he said.
Clark said since a private investment group came on board in 2015 to buy the Highlanders licence, money had been put into the business and reserves had been built up.
Those were now being used and employees had been prepared to take the pay cut.
The franchise had used the Government’s wage subsidy system.
He said the Highlanders ran a pretty lean operation.
But outgoings were at more than $500,000 a month at the franchise, so that could be chewed through pretty quickly.
Things may have to change, but that depended on the duration of the lockdown.
The club was working hard to be ready when the team got back on the field for the rest of the season or in 2021.
When — or if — a season started this year was unknown.
NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said the grant would help the clubs for the next three months.
Robinson said things were constantly changing, so no restart could be set in stone, but there was the chance of playing later into the year, even into November.
The licences for Super Rugby were due to expire at the end of the year, but it was felt best to pause the negotiations over new ones.
A working group had been set up to look at the make-up of the season when and if it started.
An announcement on cuts to professional player wages was expectedsoon. NZR staff had agreed to a 40% pay cut.
The second-quarter grant to provincial unions was made by the national body, Robinson confirmed yesterday.