NPR

Plans are under way for a revolutionary franchise league that hopes to attract the game's biggest stars.
The competition, known as R360, is scheduled to be launched next year, with benefactors from across other sports reported to be interested in investing.
Organisers insist the new league will not clash with international rugby and say players will be able to continue to represent their countries in tournaments such as the Six Nations.
In a prospectus seen by the BBC, R360 says it can give the sport its "Super Bowl moment" with a global league that would be the "pinnacle of rugby".

"Clubs around the world are feeling the strain and are being propped up by the international game," Tindall added.

Sandstorm wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:39 am Well I can see the Boks playing Easy Rugby in Japan being available for more matches each season - but every other league is already at full stretch and players are burning out.

Where the hell is the extra schedule window going to appear?

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:38 am Tindalls the figure head?

As far as financing, these days in sport it's one of two places - American private equity or Arab money. They are both hovering up all the sport they can.

SaintK wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:49 am

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:38 am Tindalls the figure head?

As far as financing, these days in sport it's one of two places - American private equity or Arab money. They are both hovering up all the sport they can.

Quite!
And Stuart Hooper!!!!!

SaintK wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:29 am I wonder where the money is coming from for this and will it get off the ground?

Plans are under way for a revolutionary franchise league that hopes to attract the game's biggest stars.
The competition, known as R360, is scheduled to be launched next year, with benefactors from across other sports reported to be interested in investing.
Organisers insist the new league will not clash with international rugby and say players will be able to continue to represent their countries in tournaments such as the Six Nations.
In a prospectus seen by the BBC, R360 says it can give the sport its "Super Bowl moment" with a global league that would be the "pinnacle of rugby".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-uni ... xw09z4o

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 12:44 pm

SaintK wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:29 am I wonder where the money is coming from for this and will it get off the ground?

Plans are under way for a revolutionary franchise league that hopes to attract the game's biggest stars.
The competition, known as R360, is scheduled to be launched next year, with benefactors from across other sports reported to be interested in investing.
Organisers insist the new league will not clash with international rugby and say players will be able to continue to represent their countries in tournaments such as the Six Nations.
In a prospectus seen by the BBC, R360 says it can give the sport its "Super Bowl moment" with a global league that would be the "pinnacle of rugby".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-uni ... xw09z4o

What they've missed about that 'ok to play internationals' bit is that any cross border league has to be approved by each of the national unions of the territories they're in.

Kawazaki wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 2:41 pm Rugby Union is like a very very old brand that has struggled to move into the digital age and it's once mighty capitalization is rapidly receding as younger more dynamic brands are attracting all the new money.

Rugby is like Pears Soap, Parker Pens or HMV.


For less than the price of a single top football club, world rugby could be bought across the world. The PIF fund could probably buy worldwide rugby for less than £2bn. Probably much less.

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 2:58 pm

Kawazaki wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 2:41 pm Rugby Union is like a very very old brand that has struggled to move into the digital age and it's once mighty capitalization is rapidly receding as younger more dynamic brands are attracting all the new money.

Rugby is like Pears Soap, Parker Pens or HMV.


For less than the price of a single top football club, world rugby could be bought across the world. The PIF fund could probably buy worldwide rugby for less than £2bn. Probably much less.

Do you see that as a good or bad thing?

For me I see football which (at the very top level) exists as a cash cow (or vanity project) for gazillionaires. It's mostly lost whatever soul it had and the bona fide connections it had to the local community/grassroots and is just Big Business. It's only going to continue to move in that direction.

Rugby is small enough that it still has that connection to the people and to the grassroots and that is a plus imo. Becoming a bigger more popular sport just means more (non rugby type) investors getting involved who are looking to make some money and don't care what they do to the sport in order to achieve that.

Uncle fester wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 6:17 pm Not content with wrecking the European competition, the spivs want to have a go on the global stage now.

Kawazaki wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:21 pm There is over $750bn in the Saudi PIF fund. That is a staggering amount of money. A loss leader for that fund might be $5bn.

People scoffed and laughed at LIV golf but it hasn't gone away and the direction of travel now is the established old guard are moving inexorably towards LIV, not the other way around.

PIF could do the same in rugby for a fraction of the cost that golf cost them except rugby will arguably deliver a better ROI - however they choose to measure what that is.

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:32 pm I was about to post something similar. The inter coach (Inzaghi) is now going to go to Saudi Arabia and will be on €26 million per annum, net.

The Saudis could probably pay the top 300 rugby players in the world €2 million annum and I doubt they would blink an eye.

The only reason that they wouldn't bother is that there is very little soft power in controlling rugby like there is in golf, boxing or hosting an Olympics or a world cup.

Sandstorm wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:29 pm

Kawazaki wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:21 pm There is over $750bn in the Saudi PIF fund. That is a staggering amount of money. A loss leader for that fund might be $5bn.

People scoffed and laughed at LIV golf but it hasn't gone away and the direction of travel now is the established old guard are moving inexorably towards LIV, not the other way around.

PIF could do the same in rugby for a fraction of the cost that golf cost them except rugby will arguably deliver a better ROI - however they choose to measure what that is.

Please don’t encourage these money men.

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:50 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:32 pm I was about to post something similar. The inter coach (Inzaghi) is now going to go to Saudi Arabia and will be on €26 million per annum, net.

The Saudis could probably pay the top 300 rugby players in the world €2 million annum and I doubt they would blink an eye.

The only reason that they wouldn't bother is that there is very little soft power in controlling rugby like there is in golf, boxing or hosting an Olympics or a world cup.

Got to ask yourself where the Saudis want to buy exposure though. Rugby has no USA / China / Germany /profile, unlike golf and football. Don’t see the attraction for them.

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:50 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:32 pm I was about to post something similar. The inter coach (Inzaghi) is now going to go to Saudi Arabia and will be on €26 million per annum, net.

The Saudis could probably pay the top 300 rugby players in the world €2 million annum and I doubt they would blink an eye.

The only reason that they wouldn't bother is that there is very little soft power in controlling rugby like there is in golf, boxing or hosting an Olympics or a world cup.

Got to ask yourself where the Saudis want to buy exposure though. Rugby has no USA / China / Germany /profile, unlike golf and football. Don’t see the attraction for them.

Uncle fester wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 9:59 pm

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:50 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:32 pm I was about to post something similar. The inter coach (Inzaghi) is now going to go to Saudi Arabia and will be on €26 million per annum, net.

The Saudis could probably pay the top 300 rugby players in the world €2 million annum and I doubt they would blink an eye.

The only reason that they wouldn't bother is that there is very little soft power in controlling rugby like there is in golf, boxing or hosting an Olympics or a world cup.

Got to ask yourself where the Saudis want to buy exposure though. Rugby has no USA / China / Germany /profile, unlike golf and football. Don’t see the attraction for them.

Welsh TV money?

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 9:37 pm

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:50 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:32 pm I was about to post something similar. The inter coach (Inzaghi) is now going to go to Saudi Arabia and will be on €26 million per annum, net.

The Saudis could probably pay the top 300 rugby players in the world €2 million annum and I doubt they would blink an eye.

The only reason that they wouldn't bother is that there is very little soft power in controlling rugby like there is in golf, boxing or hosting an Olympics or a world cup.

Got to ask yourself where the Saudis want to buy exposure though. Rugby has no USA / China / Germany /profile, unlike golf and football. Don’t see the attraction for them.

Fully agree and that is the saving grace for rugby, it is not a sport with a high profile outside a few hotbeds so there's not really all that much benefit in investing in it if you are doing so for vanity purposes.

The biggest rugby clubs or franchises in the world at best would be on par with a football team like Southampton.

However, if it tickled their fancy the Saudis could potentially be very disruptive in the sport if they became involved.

I like neeps wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:49 am

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 9:37 pm

Biffer wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 7:50 pm

Got to ask yourself where the Saudis want to buy exposure though. Rugby has no USA / China / Germany /profile, unlike golf and football. Don’t see the attraction for them.

Fully agree and that is the saving grace for rugby, it is not a sport with a high profile outside a few hotbeds so there's not really all that much benefit in investing in it if you are doing so for vanity purposes.

The biggest rugby clubs or franchises in the world at best would be on par with a football team like Southampton.

However, if it tickled their fancy the Saudis could potentially be very disruptive in the sport if they became involved.

There's no reason for the Saudis to have any interest in rugby.

LIV golf: golf brings high value tourists who bring their cash.
Football: the population love it and so fewer uprisings.
Rugby: unknown sport in country with no tourism potential.

R360 is stupid. Goode on today's rugby podcast is right, taking rugby from its known fans to somewhere in the hope of finding unknown fans.

Sport doesn't need to grow at x% per year and be a money making outlet for billionaires.

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:56 pm

I like neeps wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:49 am

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 9:37 pm

Fully agree and that is the saving grace for rugby, it is not a sport with a high profile outside a few hotbeds so there's not really all that much benefit in investing in it if you are doing so for vanity purposes.

The biggest rugby clubs or franchises in the world at best would be on par with a football team like Southampton.

However, if it tickled their fancy the Saudis could potentially be very disruptive in the sport if they became involved.

There's no reason for the Saudis to have any interest in rugby.

LIV golf: golf brings high value tourists who bring their cash.
Football: the population love it and so fewer uprisings.
Rugby: unknown sport in country with no tourism potential.

R360 is stupid. Goode on today's rugby podcast is right, taking rugby from its known fans to somewhere in the hope of finding unknown fans.

Sport doesn't need to grow at x% per year and be a money making outlet for billionaires.

Agreed.

Honestly, I think rugby dodges so many bullets because it's not quite big enough or popular enough to attract the carpet baggers en masse.

In many ways rugby - being relatively incomprehensible to the layperson - gatekeeps itself pretty effectively.

laurent wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:06 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:56 pm

I like neeps wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:49 am

There's no reason for the Saudis to have any interest in rugby.

LIV golf: golf brings high value tourists who bring their cash.
Football: the population love it and so fewer uprisings.
Rugby: unknown sport in country with no tourism potential.

R360 is stupid. Goode on today's rugby podcast is right, taking rugby from its known fans to somewhere in the hope of finding unknown fans.

Sport doesn't need to grow at x% per year and be a money making outlet for billionaires.

Agreed.

Honestly, I think rugby dodges so many bullets because it's not quite big enough or popular enough to attract the carpet baggers en masse.

In many ways rugby - being relatively incomprehensible to the layperson - gatekeeps itself pretty effectively.

There was finally a short article in French Press it presents this as a Premiership splinter group
Apparently no Top14 players contacted.

laurent wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:06 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:56 pm

I like neeps wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:49 am

There's no reason for the Saudis to have any interest in rugby.

LIV golf: golf brings high value tourists who bring their cash.
Football: the population love it and so fewer uprisings.
Rugby: unknown sport in country with no tourism potential.

R360 is stupid. Goode on today's rugby podcast is right, taking rugby from its known fans to somewhere in the hope of finding unknown fans.

Sport doesn't need to grow at x% per year and be a money making outlet for billionaires.

Agreed.

Honestly, I think rugby dodges so many bullets because it's not quite big enough or popular enough to attract the carpet baggers en masse.

In many ways rugby - being relatively incomprehensible to the layperson - gatekeeps itself pretty effectively.

There was finally a short article in French Press it presents this as a Premiership splinter group
Apparently no Top14 players contacted.

SaintK wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:33 pm

laurent wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:06 pm

Hugo wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:56 pm

Agreed.

Honestly, I think rugby dodges so many bullets because it's not quite big enough or popular enough to attract the carpet baggers en masse.

In many ways rugby - being relatively incomprehensible to the layperson - gatekeeps itself pretty effectively.

There was finally a short article in French Press it presents this as a Premiership splinter group
Apparently no Top14 players contacted.

How very French!
As far as has been reported no Premiership players have been approached either.
Stephen Jones in The Times thinks it's a potentiaally good idea so you know it will never happen

They also deny that their venture would shatter the club game. “We want the very best players, but as a by-product we would be removing from some clubs easily their biggest expenses, and as a by-product we might make clubs around the world profitable. It would be possible for players to stay with Bath, for example, or join R360.”

I like neeps wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 6:00 pm

SaintK wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:33 pm

laurent wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:06 pm
There was finally a short article in French Press it presents this as a Premiership splinter group
Apparently no Top14 players contacted.

How very French!
As far as has been reported no Premiership players have been approached either.
Stephen Jones in The Times thinks it's a potentiaally good idea so you know it will never happen

A predictably terrible article but buying this uncritically from his source was the best bit

They also deny that their venture would shatter the club game. “We want the very best players, but as a by-product we would be removing from some clubs easily their biggest expenses, and as a by-product we might make clubs around the world profitable. It would be possible for players to stay with Bath, for example, or join R360.”

Its actually good for Bath to lose their best players because they might make money.... A quite incredible piece of logic.