New "LIV Style" Global Rugby League

[Crashy]

Being an optimist, hopefully it gets a few very talented leaguies to leave NRL, get the taste of Union. after two years it goes tits up and they sign for a T14 team and we can select them for Aus.

and Gus Gould finally implodes...

 

[dru]

I've got no loyalty whatsoever to RA let alone World Rugby. But this is actual nonsense and we won't know the true impact on the game until the shit starts splattering on the fan.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Tell you what though. I'd love to see Payne Haas bring it back off a goal line drop out right at someone like Richie Arnold. Look like a Crane Collapsing.

 

[Sully]

RA and WR (World Rugby) are not for profit and invst everything they earn back into the game. I know it not enough right now but they are doing what they can with what they have.
R360, as far as I can tell, is giving nothing back and taking players away from competitions that do give back.
We've seen this model before with Uber and Airbnb and it just creates a clusterfuck and big profits for said companies and an inferior product for everyone else.

 

[PhilClinton]

RA and WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) are not for profit and invst everything they earn back into the game. I know it not enough right now but they are doing what they can with what they have.
R360, as far as I can tell, is giving nothing back and taking players away from competitions that do give back.
We've seen this model before with Uber and Airbnb and it just creates a clusterfuck and big profits for said companies and an inferior product for everyone else.

Phil Waugh earns $800k as CEO of RA - there are lots of narratives around why R360 is going to cause issues for rugby but don't act like the blokes at RA are out there bending over backwards for the game here and taking nothing for it.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

Pole Watch:

Time to dissolve the NSFW Waratahs. Votes: 11. 34.4%​

The Pole, The One True Arbiter of Truth.

The People have Spoken.

 

[Major Tom]

RA and WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) are not for profit and invst everything they earn back into the game. I know it not enough right now but they are doing what they can with what they have.
R360, as far as I can tell, is giving nothing back and taking players away from competitions that do give back.
We've seen this model before with Uber and Airbnb and it just creates a clusterfuck and big profits for said companies and an inferior product for everyone else.

Uber when it came out was a game changer because Taxi's had a monopoly of the market. It forced the companies to provide a better service. There are already plenty of options in the rugby market through various comps. At no point have I seen anything from R360 details that show it will improve rugby as a product. I don't know of anyone who's asking for R360? It's just a money-making scheme.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

The fragility of Clubs around the world bar the top French sides is also a worry if some get a worried and up the money for players who threaten to go to R360. It seems every second Prem side is going at a loss from trying to keep up with the neighbours.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It's just a money-making scheme.

Is it even that? It appears to be a money-spending scheme (like Uber), designed to disrupt the existing rugby-world by spending shadowy subsidised revenue with no need to actually balance revenue and expenses.

We've seen what rugby comps that don't have revenue constraints like Japan and France do to the player salary market, this will just make things worse (I'm not saying players getting money is a bad thing, but they generally get paid far more than rugby as a sport can actualy afford, which causes all of the downstream problems for RA and most of the rest of WR (World Rugby) ecosystem)

 

[Omar Comin']

RA and WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) are not for profit and invst everything they earn back into the game. I know it not enough right now but they are doing what they can with what they have.
R360, as far as I can tell, is giving nothing back and taking players away from competitions that do give back.
We've seen this model before with Uber and Airbnb and it just creates a clusterfuck and big profits for said companies and an inferior product for everyone else.

They're going to risk hundreds of millions of dollars in the hope of creating a successful new competition. If it fails as badly as most seem to expect, those investors will lose all their money in 2-3 years and World Rugby will lose next to nothing. Because they're fighting them, the 2027 world cup and 26/28 nations championship may not feature a few players that otherwise would have played, but this probably has negligible commercial impact in that time. If it does succeed it may make rugby more globally popular, which would be beneficial to the unions and World Rugby.

I doubt many people are expecting R360 to make a profit. It's basically venture capital where they expect most investments to fail in the hope they can win big occasionally to make up for it. And even winning big can involve many years of large losses - Uber itself only became profitable in 2023. For PR purposes (and to do some good) R360 probably should consider offering a % of any future profits to go into a World Rugby controlled development fund, or something like this, to try and gain some support, because their PR is beyond terrible.

 

[Sully]

Phil Waugh earns $800k as CEO of RA - there are lots of narratives around why R360 is going to cause issues for rugby but don't act like the blokes at RA are out there bending over backwards for the game here and taking nothing for it.

How much do you think the head of a major sporting organisation should make and who do you think would do it properly for that money? I jear Scott Morrison is looking for a gig.

 

[Major Tom]

Is it even that? It appears to be a money-spending scheme (like Uber), designed to disrupt the existing rugby-world by spending shadowy subsidised revenue with no need to actually balance revenue and expenses.

We've seen what rugby comps that don't have revenue constraints like Japan and France do to the player salary market, this will just make things worse (I'm not saying players getting money is a bad thing, but they generally get paid far more than rugby as a sport can actualy afford, which causes all of the downstream problems for RA and most of the rest of WR (World Rugby) (World Rugby) ecosystem)

Uber is a bit different. It worked because people saw the benefit of paying far less for basically the same product or better. It's since morphed back to a taxi service which sucks. R360 is 100% about making money. The players, managers and administrators are trying to get access to Suadi money. Plain and simple it's a gimmick. If it weren't for the hypothetical money no one would give two shits.

 

[PhilClinton]

How much do you think the head of a major sporting organisation should make and who do you think would do it properly for that money? I jear Scott Morrison is looking for a gig.

Maybe proportionate to the revenue for starters.

Andrew Abdo pulls in $1.5M - NRL reported 2024 revenue was $730m

RA 2024 reported revenue was $126m so based on those numbers maybe Phil could take a haircut.

 

[fatprop]

Made I larf

 

[Wilson]

The fragility of Clubs around the world bar the top French sides is also a worry if some get a worried and up the money for players who threaten to go to R360. It seems every second Prem side is going at a loss from trying to keep up with the neighbours.

I think those french clubs might be a bit more fragile than people expect. None of them are going bust at the top at the moment but there's more risk when they drop back a level or two.

There's a lot of wealthy benefactors keeping things going at the top, which is nice while you can get it, but I'm not sure their budgets can stretch much further if R360 juices the player market too much.

 

[Strewthcobber]

I think those french clubs might be a bit more fragile than people expect. None of them are going bust at the top at the moment but there's more risk when they drop back a level or two.

There's a lot of wealthy benefactors keeping things going at the top, which is nice while you can get it, but I'm not sure their budgets can stretch much further if R360 juices the player market too much.

You're not wrong

According to figures released by the National Rugby League (LNR), these clubs collectively posted an operating loss of €64.50 million for the 2023-2024 season,

The Top 14 clubs are experiencing a important surge in turnover, reaching a record €434 million, a 9.3% increase compared to the previous season. this growth is fueled by increased ticketing revenue, sponsor contributions, and redistributions from the League, largely due to increased TV rights deals. though, expenses are also on the rise, nearing €500 million, driven by “inflation” and “increased variable charges backed by the progress of partnerships (hospitalities), matches of matches and sales of goods,” as described by the League.

 

[Rugby110]

Now that Ikitau and Gordon have signed with Rugby Australia, it was reported their R360 offer was USD$2M per year, tax free if residency taken up in Dubai. Other Wallabies yet to be determined with offers ranging from USD$750K to $1M. R360 losing momentum.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Now that Ikitau and Gordon have signed with Rugby Australia, it was reported their R360 offer was USD$2M per year, tax free if residency taken up in Dubai. Other Wallabies yet to be determined with offers ranging from USD$750K to $1M. R360 losing momentum.

I think the Unions coming out and saying they won't select from the competition and it being around two years out from a RWC has tempered a lot of the players interest. The money would be very tempting but the RWC is the RWC. Players aren't going to risk the opportunity to play in the games centrepiece event. If this was launching in 2028 then that may be a different scenario.

 

[Rugby110]

Now that Ikitau and Gordon have signed with Rugby Australia, it was reported their R360 offer was USD$2M per year, tax free is residency taken up in Dubai. Other Wallabies yet to be determined with offers ranging from USD$750K to $1M. R360 losing momentum

I think the Unions coming out and saying they won't select from the competition and it being around two years out from a RWC has tempered a lot of the players interest. The money would be very tempting but the RWC is the RWC. Players aren't going to risk the opportunity to play in the games centrepiece event. If this was launching in 2028 then that may be a different scenario.

Finn Smith and George Ford have now decided not the sign with R360.

 

[Giulia]

I don't have much of an interest in this concept, but this worry around it being Saudi Money seems a bit ridiculous at this point considering how many sports they invest in

We all happily watch F1, Boxing, Football, Tennis, pro wrestling etc. etc. etc. All of them take Saudi money. A lot of the businesses you use on any given day take Saudi Money

If this is meant to sound reassuring... it really doesn't sound reassuring.