While we’ve been feasting on a festival of rugby with the BIL, the women’s RWC and the Rugby Championship, up north, where the new season is about to kick off, trouble is brewing that could shake up the world of rugby. It comes in the form of a new competition (as if we don’t have enough of them already), namely Rugby 360. Word of this competition has been kicking around for some time, but it now seems that things are sort of coming to a head. The whole concept seems to have flown under the radar of Rugby Australia and that, if correct, is a bit of a worry. However, before we start running around like headless chooks wailing that the end of rugby is nigh, let’s have a look and see what the beast is all about. Bear in mind that these are my random thoughts and bits that I’ve cherry picked from articles that I’ve read.
What is R360?
Rugby 360 (R360) is a proposed, privately-funded, global franchise-style rugby league, fronted by a couple of Soap Dodgers, one of whom has links to royalty (you’ve got to blame someone), and inspired by sports disruptors like IPL in cricket and LIV in golf. R360 aims to create a new, commercially-focused competition with city-based teams, no relegation, and a condensed, global ‘Grand Prix’ style event schedule, potentially starting in 2026. Its goal is to attract modern audiences and media through fast-paced matches, fan-first experiences, and a focus on player brand opportunities, while also committing to player welfare and a long-term vision for women’s rugby.
When does the circus begin?
Games would be played in major global cities, similar to a Formula 1 race weekend, over a condensed season. There is, as yet, no fixed or released schedule for Rugby 360, but it’s aiming to launch in 2026 with a season played across multiple international cities. Locations at the moment are vague but cities being touted include Tokyo, London, Dubai, Cape Town, Boston, Miami, Barcelona, Melbourne, and Los Angeles. The league plans to feature 12 teams in both men’s and women’s competitions, with games played in two blocks: April to June and August to September, potentially overlapping with international windows. More specific schedule details will depend on player recruitment, team formation and final broadcast agreements, all likely to be announced closer to the proposed launch date.
Who’s playing?
No idea, but recruitment is said to be well underway. With 12 franchises (8 men’s, 4 women’s) to fill you could be looking at over 300 of the world’s top players. It’s understood that a number have already signed up under a nondisclosure agreement. Recruitment has not been confined to our game. It’s been reported that a number of league players have been approached and have signed up as well.
Who will watch it? The goal is apparently to create a glitzy, fast-paced product that will appeal to a broader, more casual audience, though it may lack the emotional resonance of traditional rugby. Being decidedly old school, I liked nothing more than playing and watching derby games against London club rivals. To some extent, I think we’ve lost the feeling of tribalism in today’s modern game. Given some of the locations being touted as the homes for franchises I just cannot see them developing a fan base, let alone attract the fans of visiting teams. Maybe R360 is expecting TV to be their get out of jail card for generating cash.
How much will players earn?
Again pretty vague but figures being bandied about suggest twice as much as the current top pro union players receive so you could be looking at average wages being close to $1m with the crème de la crème making more.
What will the running costs be?
As a new professional league, R360 will require significant investment in coaching staff, league management, media operations and overall infrastructure. Talk is that setting up and running costs could be of the order of $500m or more.
What about broadcasting?
The competition hasn’t yet agreed to a broadcast rights deal but intends to land on free-to-air stations across the globe. Once they secure a television deal, there’ll be a clearer sense of what players can hope to earn between the network money and investment funds.
What does this mean for the existing franchises?
I reckon the phones have been buzzing between players’ agents and whoever within R360 is responsible for recruitment. I’d imagine that a good few of the these players are either out of, or are on short term, contracts and won’t be slow out of the blocks in securing the best deal for their futures. I’d also imagine that the owners of these clubs will be doing their level best to either retain their best players or secure more than adequate compensation if they lose them.
The situation here in Aus is unclear. It seems that the whole issue has slipped under the radar of RA. We’ve seen upheavals to Australian rugby in the last decade, but things appear to have settled down. Last season’s SR was a big success with the gap between our franchises and those in NZ closing. With the demise of the Rebels a whole swag of players either moved to other SR franchises, headed abroad or are playing club rugby and waiting for offers. It begs the question: should we be afraid? Close your eyes for a second or three and imagine this pile of pooh being sanctioned by World Rugby. Hold that thought and then imagine Melbourne being one of the franchises. Forget about the Rebels and think about the 90,000 crowds that’ve watched the Bledisloe and the BIL at the MCG. I can actually see the casual fan taking to this for one weekend a year. Christ, I might even be tempted myself. So where do you think the money men are going to be waving their wads of cash? It certainly isn’t the NH. They’ll be looking at overseas Aussies and our Super Rugby franchises for their players, plus of course those from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Crikey, I’ve even got a name for the team, Southern Allstars. Now that rocks. Should we be afraid? Yes, I think we should. I for one, would be interested to know how RA and our franchises are going to respond to this threat.
What does it mean at international level?
This will be a very big issue. Under the proposal, players will be released to play for their national teams. Players have already signed up from the Saffas and England. None have apparently signed from NZ. With the French and Irish unions having strong ties to their clubs, it’s difficult to see much recruitment from those two countries. Scotland have two franchises and a national team with a few overseas players. Wales are in turmoil, with talk that they will reduce to two club franchises. No unions can afford to lose players to R360. So far they’ve been silent as to whether they’ll select players who elect to play in the new league. With R360 pressing World Rugby for a response, the unions better get their act together pretty damn quick.
What does all this mean for the current rugby set up?
This new proposal affects rugby worldwide. Just looking at the proposed schedule you can see the timing cutting across all the European competitions and our Super Rugby program. Without more detail from R360 it’s impossible to assess what damage it will do to existing franchises and how those franchises will react to their players being poached.
How national unions will react also remains to be seen. Players who are current internationals, or have international aspirations, have a choice to make if they are approached. Do they follow the money that could secure a better financial future, or stick with their club and country?
The proposal for four women’s franchises, which would skim off 120 of the world’s top players, could potentially see the demise of professional rugby at a time when great progress is being made in player development with more teams becoming professional at club and national level. The proposal doesn’t say anything about player release in international windows. This would be a disaster for the women’s game and must be stopped.
We need to see leadership from the sports governing bodies, not silence. The ball would seem to be in the court of World Rugby and the national unions. These are the bodies that run the game, are responsible for, among other things, the selection of referees and disciplinary processes, both of which will be required by R360. They could quite easily pull the plug by not sanctioning this new proposed league that runs directly against existing competitions. If they go down that path, with big money backing this new league, I can see a massive legal battle ahead.
A personal view.
It’s a bit of a worry that experienced businessmen and well known players think that there are things so wrong with the way the current rugby set up is managed and played that they see R360 as a serious alternative. I hope this never gets off the ground and World Rugby kicks it into the dustbin where it belongs. We have more than enough competitions at club and national level to satisfy the average rugby junkie. All this talk about having fun packed weekends of thrilling rugby entertainment means nothing unless Joe Public, who will be shelling out mega bucks, gets to see the best of the best. They will not accept second rate players or ex-internationals who are past their use by date. I also fail to see how they will put on a show with fast, pacey games played under the current laws, unless they start tweaking the laws. If they go down that route the games will be like watching two teams of Harlem Globetrotters. Not pointless but totally pointless, if you get my drift.
For an expert point of view, have a look at this article written by Brian Moore of the UK’s Daily Telegraph. There are so many questions I want R360 to answer). It’s a good read.
PS. This latest, courtesy of the DT: R360’s hope of launching in time for the 2026-27 season have suffered a major blow after the breakaway league deferred its application to World Rugby from September to June next year.
Telegraph Sport understands that R360 executives were due to meet with the global governing body next week and present their plans for the big money franchise league to launch a year later, in September 2026. However, those plans are now in jeopardy as it’s understood that World Rugby has informed its council members that no vote on R360 will take place at the planned meeting later this month, with that poll being postponed until June next year. Full article. R360’s hopes of starting rebel rugby league next year suffer major blow
Hopefully, the wheels are falling off this white elephant and it’ll be in the graveyard before World Rugby delivers the coup de grace.
