Senior global rugby figures believe the rebel R360 venture is all but dead unless it can find a way to appease the world’s top rugby nations.
In a dramatic move, a number of national unions – the IRFU among them – collectively made clear that players involved in the R360 competition would be ineligible for their national sides and have warned them to treat offers with “extreme caution”.
Privately there is a widespread view that those pushing the R360 concept, fronted by the England World Cup winner Mike Tindall, now face a struggle to get the project off the ground if the world’s top players are required to forfeit their international futures to join the rebel league.
The decision of the unions to issue a co-ordinated statement on Tuesday followed the announcement last week that the International Rugby Players Association – the global players’ union – was not backing the competition or any contracts offered to its members. R360 is also yet to be officially sanctioned by World Rugby, the sport’s governing body.
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While World Rugby cannot comment for legal reasons relating to R360’s ongoing official application that will not be heard until at least next June, the mood of leading rugby officials and union representatives is hardening. It is also understood that some precontract player agreements with R360 may have had deadlines attached that have either expired or are reaching that point.
World Rugby has said any new competition would need to complement the existing calendar and preserve the sanctity of international rugby, the financial engine of the sport globally that generates funds for grassroots development.
The statement on Tuesday also highlighted the self-serving nature of the R360 model that ultimately would benefit only a few at the expense of many others. “[It] rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways,” the unions’ argued.
The proposed R360 initiative is meant to kick off next October and involve a 12-team global franchise competition, with eight match weekends each year in cities such as London, Barcelona, Tokyo, Dubai, Cape Town, Boston and Miami.
The unions accept that “some players may choose to take opportunities in R360” and insist they will “bear no ill will with them” if they do. As things stand, though, the 2027 World Cup is just over the horizon and any world-class players who might be swayed by the attractive terms of an R360 contract would have to balance that against missing out on the tournament.
A better scenario for the wider game, perhaps, would be for the financial backers of R360 to switch horses and support the sport’s existing competitions and teams instead. Sources suggest that World Rugby’s door remains open to any such investors, particularly with the 2031 Men’s World Cup taking place in the US and the profile of the women’s game increasing rapidly. – Guardian
