R360 is fronted by former England international Mike Tindall, and is aiming to launch in October next year. Photo: Photosport
The new rebel rugby competition is said to be targeting top-tier players by dangling huge salaries, but there are big hurdles in its plan to steal the game
It's the bold new rugby venture, pitching itself as a slick "Grand Prix"-style spectacle that blends the best of union and league.
It's called R360.
Fronted by former England international Mike Tindall and aiming to launch in October next year, it promises to "reimagine the global game" - and shake up both rugby union and league in a way not seen since professionalism replaced the amateur era.
But not everyone is cheering it on from the sidelines, with the idea already colliding head-on with rugby's old guard.
National unions - including New Zealand Rugby (NZR) - have warned players they risk being banned from international selection if they sign on. The NRL has gone even harder, threatening 10-year bans for any league players who defect.
"Ultimately, believe it or not, we are acting in the best interest of our players because if they blindly go into these competitions and lose all their money and their career, it's not the best thing for them either," Australian Rugby League Commission Chair Peter V'landys told journalists last week.
"Why risk all that for some fly-by-night competition that's come out of a McDonald's Happy Meal?"
Newstalk ZB rugby editor and commentator Elliott Smith tells The Detail that union and league bosses "don't want their lunch cut by R360".
"They are quite happy with the way things work at the moment, and when a disruptor comes in, you immediately get your shackles up and go 'what's going on', and they have got a lot of questions around how it is being operated, and why they are wanting to disrupt the narrative ... it's a natural reaction."
He says the appeal for players is obvious - shorter seasons, less travel, and far more money.
For athletes nearing the end of their international careers or not quite good enough to put on the black jersey, R360 could be a final, lucrative payday.
"But for this to work, they need the big names ... if this is going to be a long-term, sustainable project, you can't have players in the twilight of their career, they need to be ones in their prime," Smith says.
There are reports, he says, which suggest R360 has offered at least one unnamed All Black a deal worth around $12 million - there's no confirmation, but Ardie Savea is a likely contender. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the dual-code Kiwi star currently back with the Warriors, has also reportedly been approached with a million-dollar offer.
"We are talking big, we are talking massive amounts of money ... millions a year for each player," says Smith.
"R360 basically wants to reset the narrative in rugby; they want the best of the best, they want them to come over, and they are paying them large sums of money to do so."
Who's paying the bills?
All this begs the question: who is actually funding this competition? Initial rumours claimed R360 was Saudi-backed, but Smith says it looks like that's not the case.
"My understanding is it is not Saudi-based money ... it's interesting because the people backing it haven't really spoken out too much on it," he says.
Smith also notes that R360 doesn't have a website and no official press conference has been held yet.
"I think that is one of the issues, we don't really know the full story, we don't know why or who is backing this, and what they want to get out of it
"But my understanding is ... it is Dubai-backed money, and there are a few other investors on board."
The rebel competition will feature eight men's teams and four women's teams, which will be based around the world, like "a travelling road show".
"They will go around, Formula 1-style or world sevens-style, around the globe, and play these tournaments, week to week."
Smith says R360 claims about 200 players have sent letters of intent, saying they will sign up if the competition goes ahead in October next year.
Just who are these players?
No one knows yet.
"I was speaking to a player-agent who said it would take a lot to basically put their integrity on the line and tell this player to sign for R360 or suggest it's a viable option.
"[R360] needs to go 'we've got two or three great players from England, we've got some great All Blacks, we've got some Wallabies', and then the dominoes might be able to fall, and go okay we are actually going to go this way, this is actually going to be a sustainable competition.
Until then it seems like they are picking players from the back end of their careers."
But, he points out, the competition could appeal to women rugby players, who don't earn "a great deal of money".
"And if R360 [were to] come along to these players and go 'we are going to offer you some eye-watering sums of money', do they have the same loyalties that men's players potentially have to their unions.
"I think there are two different narratives for the men's game and the women's game out of this. And it might be that the women's game is changed significantly more than the men's."
So, for the next few months, rugby bosses will continue to circle the wagons, while players weigh up whether the promise of freedom and fortune is worth the risk of exile.
It seems everyone is listening right now, but no one is just yet.
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