Ulster Rugby chief Hugh McCaughey confirms multi-million euro deficit

Ulster Rugby chief executive Hugh McCaughey is confident the province can break even within three seasons, as he estimates their debt could rise to €3.5m by the end of 2024.

McCaughey was appointed as Ulster's new CEO on Monday, having filled the role on an interim basis since the resignation of former chief executive Jonny Petrie in March.

The financial issues at the province had been evident in recent months, with Ireland internationals Billy Burns and Will Addison among the high-profile departures at the end of the season, as well as World Cup-winning Springbok Steven Kitshoff who has returned to South Africa after just one year of a three-year contract.

McCaughey has confirmed the province are facing a multi-million euro deficit, but the new CEO believes the outlook will improve in the years ahead.

"We will finish the year somewhere between £2.5m and £3m [€2.9m and €3.5m] in deficit but we have agreed a financial plan which we have confidence in and which will return us to stability and break even within two to three seasons," he told the BBC.

"It's built around the strategy which we want for rugby - we're confident we can generate the income, we have the support of our sponsors, the support of our fans and it's built in on that. It gives us our budget for our professional team that we're confident with and gives us that stability.

"The projections we've seen, even over the last two to three months, gives us the confidence that we're on track to deliver this plan. It's not a slash and burn plan.

"We have the staff we need, we have a playing budget that we're confident with and it will give us stability for our playing squad over the next two seasons. We have to be sensible about how we recruit, we have to be prudent about