Senior rugby figures believe rebel R360 league all but dead ...

Senior global rugby figures believe the rebel R360 venture is all but dead unless it can find a way to appease the world’s top nations. In a dramatic move the leading unions collectively made clear this week that players involved in the R360 competition would be ineligible for their national sides and have warned them to treat offers with “extreme caution”. Privately there is a widespread view that those pushing the R360 concept, fronted by the England World Cup winner Mike Tindall, now face a struggle to get the project off the ground if the world’s top male and female players are required to forfeit their international futures to join the rebel league. Related: England among eight rugby nations vowing to ban players in rebel R360 league The decision of the unions to issue a coordinated statement on Tuesday followed the announcement last week that the International Rugby Players Association – the global players’ union – was not backing the competition or any contracts offered to its members. R360 has also still to be officially sanctioned by World Rugby, the sport’s governing body. While World Rugby cannot comment for legal reasons relating to R360’s pending official application that will not be heard until at least next June, the mood of leading rugby officials and union representatives is hardening. It is also understood that some pre-contract player agreements with R360 may have had deadlines attached that have either expired or are reaching that point. Fin Smith, the Northampton and England fly-half who signed a new club contract last week, said he sympathised with players nearing the end of their careers who may have been tempted by the money on offer, but he said it was never an option for him. “[My agent] knew my priority was to stay in England and give myself a chance to play for my country and hopefully go to a World Cup,” he said. “Most players, when they finish with their contracts, there are options but I was pretty clear from the start I wanted to stay in England and I’m really happy with my decision to stay with Northampton.” Of the announcement on Tuesday, he said: “I don’t think it will change how things are looked at too much. There will be people in a position and at a stage in their career that it will probably make a lot of sense for, who have achieved a lot in the international game, have done it, are going to play less matches and making a pretty hefty sum of money is an attractive proposition. “I completely understand why for some people, at some stages of their career, it makes a lot of sense.” World Rugby has intimated previously that any new competition would need to complement the existing calendar and preserve the sanctity of international rugby, the financial engine of the sport globally that generates funds for grassroots development. The statement on Tuesday also highlighted the self-serving nature of the R360 model that ultimately would benefit only a few at the expense of many others. “[It] 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,” said the unions’ statement. The proposed R360 initiative is meant to kick off next October and involve a 12-team global franchise competition, with eight match weekends each year in cities such as London, Barcelona, Tokyo, Dubai, Cape Town, Boston and Miami. Limited heed, however, has been taken of domestic and Test windows in the women’s game, with the Rugby Football Union particularly concerned about the possible implications. The RFU said: “We have invested millions into PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby], central contracts, bonuses, and performance support to develop the women’s and girls’ game here and played a pivotal role in negotiating the structure of the new WXV global series. We cannot therefore support this proposition.” The RFU and other unions accept that “some players may choose to take opportunities in R360” and insist they will “bear no ill will with them” if they do. As things stand, though, the 2027 World Cup is just over the horizon and any world-class players who might be swayed by the attractive terms of an R360 contract would have to balance that against missing out on the ultimate tournament. A better scenario for the wider game, perhaps, would be for the financial backers of R360 to switch horses and support the sport’s existing competitions and teams instead. Sources suggest that World Rugby’s door remains open to any such investors, particularly with the 2031 men’s World Cup taking place in the US and the profile of the women’s game increasing rapidly.