In 1995, I was working as a coach with London Irish, would soon move to Bath and was also running my own finance company, when I was approached to work on Kerry Packer’s World Rugby Corporation. The sport had just gone professional and in truth, it was total chaos.
You could make an argument to say not much has changed! Packer’s aim was to shake up the rugby world by attracting the world’s best players to a new global competition, as he had done in cricket 20 years previously. I had very real talks about being involved in a coaching capacity.
To that end, it’s quite clear that rugby trying to broaden its horizons by creating rebel competitions outside the established norms isn’t necessarily anything new.
Packer tried it in the 1990s. So, the plans underway in 2025 to create a fresh, breakaway global league known as ‘R360’ are similar to ones we have seen before.
The big question is whether – unlike Packer three decades ago – the current proposals will be a success. Mike Tindall, a World Cup winner with England in 2003, is at the centre of the breakaway talks and there is no doubt he is right when he says the traditional structures of the club game aren’t proving profitable to anyone involved.
R360 say they want to provide ‘generational change in rugby’. They say they want to flood 12 new franchise teams with the best players in the world and play at the best stadiums on the planet.
Mike Tindall, a World Cup winner under me in 2003, is at the centre of the breakaway talks and he is right when he says the traditional structures of the club game aren’t proving profitable
In 1995, I was approached to work on Kerry Packer’s World Rugby Corporation
It is clearly a good thing in my opinion that there is interest in growing club rugby and a willingness away from the game’s traditional parameters to think outside the box
It is clearly a good thing in my opinion that there is interest in growing club rugby and a willingness away from the game’s traditional parameters to think outside the box.
At the moment, rugby’s finances are dependent on the money generated from the international game. As things stand, the club game isn’t sustainable.
R360’s ‘grand prix’ model has already attracted franchise bids from owners of teams in other sports, including the NFL and Formula One. Clearly, that interest and potential financial investment in rugby is to be welcomed.
Mike is certainly someone I would happily put the future of the game in the hands of. However, I do have a long list of questions and even concerns about the proposals being put forward.
Player welfare is at the heart of R360’s ambition. There is simply nothing more important and no greater challenge in the game. Without healthy players there is no rugby. It is the biggest argument for a total restructure and R360 are right to highlight this.
R360 poses a new challenge for the rugby calendar and a fresh argument over who the primary medical officer is for the players. I would like to understand more on this before the player welfare argument is rubber stamped.
Another question, and perhaps the biggest hurdle must be, what happens to club rugby? It appears R360 will run as a rival to all domestic leagues. If so, will players still be eligible to play for their country?
Currently, you cannot play for England unless you play in the Premiership. That’s something I disagree with, but the RFU has their rule and other unions have varying conditions over where their players play to protect their domestic clubs, so I cannot see a U-turn coming overnight.
R360 say they want to provide ‘generational change in rugby.’ They say they want to flood 12 new franchise teams with the best players in the world
R360 would be played at huge venues around the world, including the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
What do the plans mean, in detail, for the main domestic leagues around the world like the Premiership, Top14, United Rugby Championship and Super Rugby?
Unless, of course, the unions are paid handsomely by R360 to do so. The international unions are as desperate for investment as anyone. So, it would not surprise me if they sold out their domestic leagues and allowed their internationals to play for R360 for a price.
That is highly concerning for anyone who values the club game as I do. And let’s remember, while clubs in the UK are certainly fighting economically to stay alive, the rugby we have seen this season has still been thrilling. And in France you could argue it is even better, where there is no financial concern. Their league is absolutely thriving.
If there are global investors willing to take rugby forward, I would argue there must be a way to elevate what we have currently rather than potentially destroying it.
Next, who is going to watch these franchise teams? Does rugby not risk becoming a travelling circus here, playing all round the world perhaps for greater money, but for what overall cause?
There is also a significant cost element to consider for fans. If matches are to be played in all corners of the world, would supporters pay huge sums to travel? Would rugby build upon its core fanbase and capture the imagination of new fans overnight as F1 has?
And this is working off the idea there would be people who instantly feel an affiliation to the new outfits created. There is no guarantee that would happen.
Look at LIV Golf. Its creation made the players involved pots of money, provided fresh investment, and shook up the established order. But is golf any better for LIV? I’m not so sure it is. What I would say is that if R360 is a viable option, rugby has at the very least the duty to explore in detail what is on the table.
It is a positive that the people involved see value in the opportunity of changing the club game and hopefully for the better. Time will tell if that really happens.
While clubs in the UK are certainly fighting economically to stay alive, the rugby we have seen this season has still been thrilling
Look at LIV Golf. Its creation made the players involved pots of money, provided fresh investment, and shook up the established order. But is golf any better for LIV?
The French league is absolutely thriving – as seen by Bordeaux’s Champions Cup victory – does it need to change?
Packer had good intentions and a bold approach. He had success in cricket too. But I do wonder if rugby’s stoically traditional structures will allow for such change.
Packer couldn’t manage to break them for all the work he put in and part of me thinks R360 will have the same problems. One thing is for sure, they are unlikely to go anywhere soon. This is a very real and live issue for rugby to deal with.
Rugby’s history has shown its major unions to be quick to protect themselves rather than grow the game globally. Their own failure to innovate has created this situation and the game’s stakeholders have a big job on their hands to decide whether or not it is the right move.
The decisions they make on R360 are likely to define rugby’s direction of travel for the next 20 or 30 years. Yes, they really are that big.
