Rugby Australia will fall into a financial black hole worth up to $90 million by the end of the year in worst-case scenario projections facing administrators.

As the broadcasting tap gets turned off, the prospect of hosting home Test matches fades and sponsorship arrangements come under scrutiny amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, RA chief executive Raelene Castle, her players' union counterpart Justin Harrison and the Super Rugby clubs are working through tough decisions on rugby's cost base.

Staring down financial disaster: Australian rugby will need all the help it can get, and a bit of luck, to survive the financial fallout from coronavirus. Credit:AAP

In a doomsday scenario, which imagines a cancelled Test season and no opportunity to play the mooted domestic competition later this year, RA would forego broadcast rights payments for the next three quarters, totalling $42.75m, gate revenue from seven home Test matches and a $1m fee for a potential Test against Wales in November.

In 2018 the inbound Test schedule and the Sydney Sevens netted RA $20m in gate takings, while it earned a further $28m in sponsorship revenue, according to the organisation's financial results. Add those figures together - the Wallabies were due to play seven Tests at home this year - and the game is looking at a revenue hole of $90m.