New "LIV Style" Global Rugby League

[Tazzmania]

So this R360 disruption model, from what I have read is all about players getting all the so called funds from player payments and endorsements, the balance to a group of benefactors led by an ex rugby player that is now part of the royal family and his associates. Nothing to the production line that helped produce these players, get them to where they are, or help the next batch of players to come through to make any long term model sustainable.

Sounds like someone going to a factory that makes widgets and saying thank you I will have all those for nothing and whatever I sell them is for me and my mates. How are the future widgets going to be made.

Oh wait they are comparing it to the IPL, but lets not forget the Indian Cricket Board retain 45% of broadcast revenue and other revenue to keep their "factories" going, so not quite the same business model. And even with this model we just need to look at the flow on implications we have seen on test, provincial and other cricket forms to know what a fragile eco system sports now operate in.

Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[moa999]

Agreed.

It's for more the Packet Cricket, Super League AU and UK and LIV Golf model.
Corrupt, disrupt and interrupt until they are forced to give you a stake in the game.

 

[KOB1987]

Well for 6 teams you need at least 180 players, maybe 200. Now every other union has come out and prevented national selection, I reckon a scenario where RA acquiesced could see 40 players go, maybe 50? Even then they have to find another 130-140 players from somewhere, which is no small task.

Take the best 40 players out of our Super rugby sides and you've basically got what we just played now. In fact probably a lesser version of that.

I think there's no chance a quarter of the players would be Australian. Even in a scenario where RA allowed eligibility and NZ and SA didn't, I'd be surprised if there still weren't more kiwis and saffas in this comp. They just produce a lot more good players. There'll be plenty of Europeans whether they're available for test selection or not, the money is too good. And then there's nothing holding back the best Argentinians, Fijians, Samoans, Tongans and standout players from other tier 2 nations (the moneyball players to fill out squads, much cheaper than current or former Wallabies and All Blacks - I'll bet there's a Georgian front rower in just about every team).

I know this is a simplistic approach, but using the 80:20 rule, and assuming they are only looking at the top 30 rugby nations, 80% of the players will be coming from the top 6 nations. However....because of our league players we would be included in the top 6 at the expense of Argentina. So, assuming they are going to draw 80% of their players equally from these 6 countries, and there is a squad of 40 per team, and there are 6 teams thats (80% x 6 x 40)/6 = 32 players from each of the top 6 countries. Of those 32 Australians I'd wager that at least half are leaguies, so let's make it 15 rugby players, and a lot of those probably aren't even based here. I'd estimate the initial draw on Super rugby AU teams to be about 10 players.

 

[Major Tom]

Agreed.

It's for more the Packet Cricket, Super League AU and UK and LIV Golf model.
Corrupt, disrupt and interrupt until they are forced to give you a stake in the game.

The LIV golf comparison doesn’t completely work. That was driven because the PGA had all the power and were pretty much forcing all the players to play in America. That works for
Americans but not necessarily for everyone else. The PGA were also withholding a lot of prize money so they were pretty corrupt themselves. R360 just seems to be trying to leverage money from the Saudi's plain and simple.

 

[PhilClinton]

So this R360 disruption model, from what I have read is all about players getting all the so called funds from player payments and endorsements, the balance to a group of benefactors led by an ex rugby player that is now part of the royal family and his associates. Nothing to the production line that helped produce these players, get them to where they are, or help the next batch of players to come through to make any long term model sustainable.

Sounds like someone going to a factory that makes widgets and saying thank you I will have all those for nothing and whatever I sell them is for me and my mates. How are the future widgets going to be made.

Oh wait they are comparing it to the IPL, but lets not forget the Indian Cricket Board retain 45% of broadcast revenue and other revenue to keep their "factories" going, so not quite the same business model. And even with this model we just need to look at the flow on implications we have seen on test, provincial and other cricket forms to know what a fragile eco system sports now operate in.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Honestly yes - and that is why I believe the statement released by all of those unions today is actually trying to leverage some type of payment from R360.

 

[Red Runner]

I assume Justin Harrison set up a Zoom call for all players where he talked for 2 hours about stakeholders, content, achievables, aspiration, synergies, low-hanging fruit, ROIs, disruption, bandwidth, going to market, mindmaps, circling back, in the weeds, 30000ft view, moving goalposts, generative AI, agility, whiteboards, deliverables, until everyone fell asleep. Basically the same as any episode of Inside Line when he's there.

In light of recent market developments and competitive activity within the rugby ecosystem, RUPA today reaffirmed its enduring commitment to stakeholders, performance, and long-term value creation.

“As we enter the next phase of our organisational journey, RUPA remains laser-focused on delivering sustained outcomes across our stakeholder ecosystem,” said the RUPA Head, Justin Harrison. “We will continue to leverage our unique capabilities, optimise cross-functional synergies and deploy a disciplined, evidence-informed approach to ensure that our strategic roadmap remains future-proof and resilient.”

RUPA’s leadership highlighted a renewed emphasis on alignment, collaboration and scalable impact. The organisation will prioritise an enhanced, outcomes-driven framework designed to unlock shareholder and stakeholder value through holistic engagement, dynamic governance, and a relentless pursuit of best-in-class standards.

Key thematic priorities (expressed at a high level) include:

- Strategic realignment: Recalibrating our approach to deliver on core objectives while remaining agile in the face of change.

- Ecosystem collaboration: Deepening partnerships to co-create sustainable pathways for growth and participation.

- Capability acceleration: Investing in people, process and platform to enable long-term competitiveness.

- Continuous evaluation: Embedding robust feedback loops to monitor progress and inform iterative improvements.

“These priorities reflect our unwavering commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and excellence,” added the CEO. “We will remain vigilant, proactive and adaptive — always putting the interests of our community and the broader code first. Our approach is intentionally measured: we will continue to assess, iterate and, where appropriate, pivot to ensure alignment with evolving expectations.”

RUPA reiterated that it will maintain an open channel of communication with its members, partners and the broader rugby community. The organisation confirmed that further operational details will be shared through the appropriate channels at the appropriate time as part of its ongoing engagement strategy.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Please tell me that's chatGPT or some such @Red Runner

 

[KOB1987]

One thing that I don't has been mentioned, from the 8 countries that have taken this stance the inference is that it's the 6 Nations and Rugby Championship countries, and the further inference is that Argentina and Wales did not want to take the same stance.

 

[Tazzmania]

One thing that I don't has been mentioned, from the 8 countries that have taken this stance the inference is that it's the 6 Nations and Rugby Championship countries, and the further inference is that Argentina and Wales did not want to take the same stance.

I suspect that as Argentina does not have a domestic competition as such to protect they are a bit more liberal in where their players are playing as long as they heed the call to International duty and Wales are looking to shrink their domestic footprint and this may help ease the burden with player allocations / wages etc.

 

[barbarian]

One thing that I don't has been mentioned, from the 8 countries that have taken this stance the inference is that it's the 6 Nations and Rugby Championship countries, and the further inference is that Argentina and Wales did not want to take the same stance.

Wales put out a statement saying similar things, although not quite as forceful in their language.

 

[Highlander35]

Wales can't exactly be talking about dropping 2 teams and then say "you'll be blacklisted for selection if you take a new well paid opportunity" they have a different PR game to everyone else.

 

[Wilson]

Chris Webb (former Wallabies team manager) has been linked with R360 in a player recruitment role:

Former Wallabies insider linked with R360 role as major unions threaten bans

Eddie Jones’ right-hand man at the 2023 World Cup has been targeted by R360 organisers about a role that has Australian rugby on high alert.

www.smh.com.au

 

[PhilClinton]

I'm not sure a role like that would have anyone on a higher alert then they already are.

We're talking about a league with unlimited funding by the sounds. It's not really going to take convincing from an ex-Wallabies manager to get someone to commit if they're being offered 10x their current salary.

 

[Red Runner]

Chris Webb (former Wallabies team manager) has been linked with R360 in a player recruitment role:

Former Wallabies insider linked with R360 role as major unions threaten bans

Eddie Jones’ right-hand man at the 2023 World Cup has been targeted by R360 organisers about a role that has Australian rugby on high alert.

www.smh.com.au

the dude supposedly responsible for the massive RWC over run on budget? He'll enjoy the access to more cash.

 

[barbarian]

Now you see everyone lining up for a spot on the gravy train before it leaves the station.

Ex-managers, coaches, journos, admins, all happy to spruik this bullshit competition provided they are adequately compensated. But who could blame them! Hell if the Saudi's offered me a million bucks I'd come over and commentate, run water, cut off the hands of unruly spectators, whatever.

Also looking forward to the cast of bots and online shills coming to defend R360 on every online forum, as they did for LIV golf. Strap in!

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

I heard this in Greg Clarks voice.

You know Marto wants a gig and I think Campo was seen checking our air bnbs in Riyadh.

 

[PhilClinton]

Have RA essentially conceded the women's game will never end up being a viable full-time competition here in OZ? Seems a strange decision for them to be cutting funding whilst this whole R360 is ramping up.

 

[Omar Comin']

Now you see everyone lining up for a spot on the gravy train before it leaves the station.

Ex-managers, coaches, journos, admins, all happy to spruik this bullshit competition provided they are adequately compensated. But who could blame them! Hell if the Saudi's offered me a million bucks I'd come over and commentate, run water, cut off the hands of unruly spectators, whatever.

Also looking forward to the cast of bots and online shills coming to defend R360 on every online forum, as they did for LIV golf. Strap in!

Do we actually know if it's Saudi money behind it, and if so, to what degree? From what I've seen it seems to be backed more by the UAE than Saudi (not that the UAE is some virtuous state, but it's not as bad).

There's also been reports of the Glazer family, Fenway Sports Group and Red Bull among others being involved. The only investors that I've seen confirmed are 885 Capital, which is based in the UAE, Albachiara - a European sports consulting firm, and Martin Gilbert who was a founder of a large British asset management company and presumably a billionaire or near enough.

It obviously wouldn't be surprising if there's some Saudi money in it because they've got their fingers in just about every global sport now - but on the surface at least it doesn't appear to be a LIV Golf equivalent (which is 93% owned and fully controlled by the Saudi public investment fund).

 

[PhilClinton]

So what you're saying is this is more Saudi adjacent?

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

That's how they'd like it seen as well.