England among eight rugby nations vowing to ban players in r...

Global rugby’s biggest unions have gone on the attack against the rebel R360 organisation that is seeking to poach the game’s leading stars. England, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy, along with New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, made clear on Tuesday that players who join the proposed new competition will be ineligible for international selection and have confirmed they will not support the venture.

R360’s backers, fronted by the former England international Mike Tindall, had been hoping to launch their multicity franchise tournament next year but have now been told to back off in no uncertain terms. “As a group of national rugby unions, we are urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition,” read a statement issued by the world’s leading unions.

“We all welcome new investment and innovation in rugby and support ideas that can help the game evolve and reach new audiences but any new competition must strengthen the sport as a whole, not fragment or weaken it.

“Among our roles as national unions, we must take a wider view on new propositions and assess their impact on a range of areas, including whether they add to rugby’s global ecosystem, for which we are all responsible, or whether they are a net negative to the game.”

A counter-thrust has been likely since R360 confirmed its intention to press ahead with its launch towards the end of next year, amid particular concerns in England that their Women’s World Cup-winning Red Roses squad were being targeted. The lack of detail surrounding R360’s plans has also served to unite the traditional unions.

The statement read: “R360 has given us no indication as to how it plans to manage player welfare; how players would fulfil their aspirations of representing their countries, and how the competition would coexist with the international and domestic calendars so painstakingly negotiated in recent years for both our men’s and women’s games.

“The R360 model, as outlined publicly, 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.

“International rugby and our major competitions remain the financial and cultural engine that sustains every level of the game. Undermining that ecosystem could be enormously harmful to the health of our sport. These are all issues that would have been much better discussed collaboratively, but those behind the proposed competition have not engaged with or met all unions to explain and better understand their business and operating model.

“Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”

R360 later issued its own statement in response, insisting “if players want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity”. Its reply read: “The series is designed with bespoke schedules for men’s and women’s teams and R360 will release all players for international matches, as written into their contracts.” R360 added: “Why would the unions stand in their way? We look forward to submitting to the World Rugby council for sanctioning next summer as planned.”

The R360 response also struck back on the issue of player welfare. “So many players love what R360 can do for them and the game. Player welfare is one of the key reasons for creating our global series, which will greatly reduce player load and capture the attention of a new generation of fans globally.”