Rugby Australia is treating R360 as a serious threat and not hot air as the fledging rebel league continues to be linked with some of the world’s biggest names in both codes.
Wales and British and Irish Lions stars Louis Rees-Zammit and Jac Morgan are the latest players to be targeted by the cashed-up consortium that plans to launch with eight games in September-December next year.
England guns Henry Slade and George Ford have also been heavily linked to R360 – reportedly offering up to $1m per tournament to players – along with NRL hotshots Kalyn Ponga, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Ryan Papenhuyzen.
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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the All Blacks celebrates victory at Eden Park. Getty
“We’ve had conversations with R360, I think a lot of people have had conversations with R360,” RA chief executive Phil Waugh told reporters in the wake of the Lions series.
“We’ve got a fairly open mind to what that looks like, but it’s very difficult without having all the detailed information and what the modelling looks like. I mean we certainly don’t have our heads in the sand on it and obviously national unions are talking about it.
“I guess it’s just around how much information there is at the moment to have a very solid position on it.”
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Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales celebrates victory at the final whistle. Getty
R360 is being fronted by England’s Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall, the husband of royal Zara Phillips.
The league is planning to launch eight franchises in some of the world’s marquee cities including London, Toyko, Dubai, Cape Town and Miami.
Waugh said player welfare would be at the centre of everything RA did but it is not inconceivable that a player could participate in R360 and still represent Australia.
“There’s certainly some talk around moving the TRC (Rugby Championship) window into the Six Nations window (February-March) as being part of the proposal of what does that look like in terms of player load?
“And then how do you ensure that when players are coming back, if they were to come back, they’re playing at the level they need to to win Test matches?
“And so I think it’s about having an open mind around player eligibility but ensuring that you’re getting the best out of players when they’re playing in the gold jersey and it still goes back to our preferences to have players onshore.
Joe Schmidt of the Wallabies speaks to Phil Waugh. Getty
“We’ll cross that bridge, if 360 becomes real, around eligibility, the calendar, and then ultimately player welfare and how they perform when they put the gold jersey on.”
RA director of high performance Peter Horne was proud to note that 38 Wallabies-eligible players had been secured on contracts over the last 12 months.
“We’re really mindful of making sure that we’ve got a long play and we invest in our players for a long term,” Horne said.
Peter Horne and Max Jorgensen. Getty
“That’s important, that we make sure that our players are playing in our competition (Super Rugby Pacific) consistently.”
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin last week said that he was open to dialogue with R360 and was confident that Test rugby would remain attractive to players.
“Our position is whatever competitions arise, we know players want to play international rugby,” Gilpin said at the launch of the ticketing program for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, to be held in Australia.
Phil Waugh, Brett Robinson and Alan Gilpin in Sydney. Getty
“It’s not true of every sport, but in our sport, the international game is the pinnacle of the game. We’ve got a really quite tricky calendar in global rugby, so it’s really important that whatever is getting endorsed and invested in gives players that opportunity.
“And I think anything that doesn’t give players that opportunity, players will vote with their feet on it.”
But Gilpin admitted World Rugby couldn’t ignore the R360 riches, which are drawing from sports-dedicated investment funds and private investment from Saudi Arabia, the United States and the UK.
“We need to have a dialogue with those guys when they’re ready to do that,” Gilpin said.
“We always say rugby needs investment – Australia’s a great example, isn’t it?
“Rugby’s in a really competitive environment around the world. Every sport and beyond sport is competing for an ever more difficult attention economy.
“So investment in the game’s great as long as that investment is driving into the right areas, as long as it’s creating a more financially sustainable game for players, for the wider ecosystem, then we encourage it.
“But we’ve got to understand what that means in the R360 case, I think.”
R360 sees itself as rugby’s version of cricket’s IPL and golf’s LIV and plans to also launch four women’s teams.
Mike Tindall of the British and Irish Lions Legends is tackled. Getty
“Rugby is feeling the fallout of the last few years with financial mismanagement, declining investment in the club game and a product that is struggling to evolve,” Tindall, who played for the Lions legends team in Australia, said.
“Clubs around the world are feeling the strain and are being propped up by the international game.
“Rugby’s lack of innovation and ability to change risks losing its appeal to new audiences and its younger market.”
