R360 - New Rugby Series

The new international rugby series, R360, is set to kick off in 2026. One of the founders is former England Captain and 2003 World Cup winner, Mike Tindall. Someone else involved was behind LIV Golf. 

The promotion is based in Dubai, so it sounds like oil money is behind things. A key factor is that the contracted players will be able to base themselves anywhere. Many may choose to domicile in Dubai or other zero-tax territories. It is speculated that salaries will be around the million-dollar mark, so no tax on that would be a big pull, I would imagine.

The thing is, players only have a few years to make the money before injury and old age slow them down. It is all very well dangling World Cup glory in front of them, but few will win one, and the players must earn a living. 

Next year, the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship is being put on hold, with New Zealand touring South Africa instead. This will be an old school tour, taking weeks. I wonder if this is a reply to the R360 they saw coming?

R360 could work; they have to attract quality players and play an attractive brand of rugby. It will be a circus format, with mini-tournaments being played in key cities. Rugby worldwide is in the doldrums at the moment, and I read somewhere that every Premiership club in England is effectively bankrupt, and in the Southern Hemisphere, crowds are staying away. Games are stale, boring, and the modern rules have killed things. R360 going after Rugby League players suggests they're intending to play a better style of rugby, one that involves a high level of skill and toughness. 

If the competition ends up like LIV Golf, though, it will fail. The LIV Golf format is uninteresting, and the player talent is not good enough. I appreciate the effort being made, but I'm not interested in that. I wonder what you all think?

https://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/extreme-rugby-rocked-by-worldwide-bans-as-war-declared/news-story/30b4dbd5b15cb24614c34f3f8d3bf193

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/what-is-r360-the-rebel-rugby-competition-set-to-shake-up-the-sport/news-story/dc30b4f70fd1951d6dc6a31214ad4658

Rugby 360

It was always going to happen, and now we see the predictable about to become reality. Apparently, rugby great Mike Tindall, along with a slew of rugby and sports management types are launching an F1-style rugby championship worldwide. To me, it also sounds a little like the NBA where players commit to a franchise.

The format of the competition will be all-important. There must be clear winners and losers, culminating in a playoff and grand final. Anything else will not work from a TV audience perspective. 

And they'd be wise to keep the game old-fashioned, the way the NBA has to a certain extent by keeping with the traditional orange leather ball, and having tip-offs for play restarts. But one innovation they could try is having two referees on the field, the way rugby league did in the NRL from 2009 to 2020. There are too many stoppages in rugby these days, while the crooked video ref decides who has paid him the most to make the call. You need decisions made there and then.

Another suggestion: stop with changing the rules every year, it is getting hard to keep up with all the various interpretations of the 'laws' of the game. The game has potential to really entertain but the pressure will be to make rugby look like American football, and doing so would be a big mistake. 

For players, it comes down to price tags, the new organisation appears to be trying to keep international rugby onside by looking at player windows; they'd be wise to just think about what suits them, not other organisations which are rivals at the end of the day.

https://www.cityam.com/red-bull-eyes-franchise-in-r360-rugby-breakaway-league/