The Rise of R360: A New Era in Rugby?
In a surprising turn of events, one of the current All Blacks stars was reportedly offered a staggering $12 million over three years to join the R360 league before re-signing in New Zealand. Despite the lucrative offer, the player declined the opportunity. This incident highlights the growing interest and influence of R360, a new rebel rugby league that is beginning to attract attention from top-tier athletes across the globe.
The Roar has learned that as many as 148 players have signed conditional contracts expressing their desire to join the league if certain requirements are met by September 30. The competition aims to sign 280 male players to fill eight rosters. High-profile coaches, including former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, have also been approached. South Africans and Argentinians, who can play anywhere across the world and still earn national selection, have been targeted. Former All Blacks and British and Irish Lions players are also in the crosshairs.
It is believed that a couple of current Wallabies have signed up to the league, while others are said to be interested. However, several players, including Fraser McReight and Len Ikitau, have turned down approaches. Both were offered deals of more than $1m per season.
Targeting Talent Across Sports
NRL stars such as Ryan Papenhuyzen, Kayln Ponga, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona are believed to have signed conditional agreements to join the league. Some met with R360 organizers in recent weeks, with a who’s who of rugby in Australia for the Lions series.
Max Jorgensen, the 20-year-old Wallabies sensation, remains a key target. Off contract in 2026, the best young talent in Australian rugby is also represented by Clinton Schifcofske, the same agent who represents Papenhuyzen. Another of Schifcofske’s clients, Jye Gray, is also said to be in discussions with R360 organizers.
Gray, 21, is the pocket rocket South Sydney Rabbitohs emerging young gun, who turned heads at The Southport School and has a strong background in the XV-man game. His club coach, Wayne Bennett, recently warned the NRL of the threat posed by R360.
“The NRL is the toughest competition in the world with the best athletes,” Bennett told News Corp. “We are absolutely under threat. We cannot ignore it. I don’t know how we combat it, but I will say this – the game needs to come together sooner rather than later in terms of the CEOs and the game itself. Let’s talk about what the hell is going on out there.”
The Challenge of Building a New League
Despite the excitement surrounding R360, there is skepticism within rugby circles about whether the league can get off the ground. The question remains: is R360 real or just hot air? This is a question that everyone – World Rugby, Rugby Australia, coaches, players, and agents – has been asking in recent months, particularly in recent days.
Fronted by England’s Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall, the husband of royal Zara Phillips, R360 has some serious figures leading the bid to turn rugby on its head in a Kerry Packer-esque move to revolutionise the game. Others involved in the start-up operation include former Bath rugby coach Stuart Hooper, Mark Spoors, an executive at Wasserman, a US sports marketing talent management agency, and John Loffhagen, a lawyer who helped launch LIV Golf.
Taking inspiration from F1 and cricket’s Indian Premier League, the concept is for a grand prix-style travelling league that would feature eight men’s franchises and a four-team professional women’s competition. It has also garnered interest from team owners from the Premier League, F1, and NFL to buy into franchises.
Financial Challenges and Uncertainty
However, before any of that gets off the ground, R360 must tick off a couple of big-ticket items first. They need to sign a major broadcast agreement and attract enough interest from players, who have committed to joining if certain requirements are met, to secure the next round of private equity to financially bulletproof the start-up league.
Without that money, the concept appears dead in the water. Where the investment is coming from remains somewhat unclear, with sources telling The Roar that it is exclusively from US and UK firms. Others believe there has to be some Middle Eastern money at play, but it’s not clear if it is Qatari or Saudi – the Public Investment Fund that has changed global sport, including golf.
It’s understood the league would be based in Dubai, thereby allowing massive tax benefits. Sources have told The Roar that the league is capitalised for the first two and a half years. High-profile international coaches and administrators have taken a vested interest in the movement, but most say there are considerable obstacles to the R360 rebel league getting up and running in the next 12 months.
Responses from Rugby Authorities
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said the governing body had to take the concept seriously and was open to hearing more about it. “We need to have a dialogue with those guys when they’re ready to do that,” Gilpin said. “We always say rugby needs investment; Australia’s a great example, isn’t it?”
RA CEO Phil Waugh also said his organisation would continue to monitor the R360 movement, but admitted that details remained sparse. “We’ve had conversations with R360. We haven’t got a huge amount of detail. We understand that players are talking to R360 – some of them are engaged and signed with R360,” Waugh told Australian reporters in a wide-ranging discussion following the Lions series.
Regardless of whether the competition gets up and running, RA director of high performance Peter Horne said the governing body was in a strong position to withstand any potential raid on its playing group, saying 38 Wallabies-eligible players had been secured on contracts over the last 12 months. “We’re really mindful of making sure that we’ve got a long play and we invest in our players for a long term,” Horne said. “That’s important, that we make sure that our players are playing in our competition (Super Rugby Pacific) consistently.”