A group of national rugby unions, including the IRFU, have issued a statement urging players not to join the proposed breakaway R360 competition, saying it would be “enormously harmful” to the health of the sport.
The statement adds that “each of the national unions will be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”
Former England player Mike Tindall is one of a number of individuals who have proposed a league series beginning next year, which hopes to attract many of the top names currently playing in both rugby league and rugby union.
“As a group of national rugby unions, we are urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition,” the statement reads.
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“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.”
Very few details have emerged about who is funding the R360 venture, or how it would fit into the current rugby calendar.
Along with Tindall, former LIV Golf lawyer John Loffhagen is also involved, along with former Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper and sports marketing executive Mark Spoors.
“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,” the statement from the national unions continues.
“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.
“Those behind the proposed competition have not engaged with or met all unions to explain and better understand their business and operating model.”
