Breakaway Rugby 360 Rebel League Recieves Hammer Blow

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This week the proposed Rugby 360 league received a hammer blow with regard to player availability. 8 of the top rugby unions in the world have sent a joint statement stating any players representing the Rugby 360 League will be banned from representing their countries in test rugby. The obvious problem here is when you cannot attract the top players then you have a serious issue as who is going to watch this league of nobody's or has beens? I said this league would be doomed from the start and any investor involved with this project will lose money.

Over the last few years rugby unions in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere have been looking at trying to align the seasons so there is an international window. The season is proposed to run from October through to April which would then leave a window of 5 months for international test matches and touring teams. This would also give the players a 2 month break from the sport in order for their bodies to recover. Player welfare is important and managing the playing time extends the player careers.

This new international window has been discussed for some time and I do not see this as being clear cut. The local competitions which is the grass roots and life line of the sport cannot be moved from a winter sport to a summer sport. I do think there will be a window created for international matches to take place, but we are talking about adjusting the season by 4-6 weeks only. having international matches at the start of the season for Southern Hemisphere teams vs the end of season for Northern Hemisphere teams would be kind of unfair and why this will not work.

The Rugby 360 break away league would try and capitalize on this window by recruiting players on high salaries. The biggest problem is player welfare and the risks this will involve. Currently players are being looked after by the amount of minutes each player plays per season and why squads are rotated. The Rugby 360 league would not be concerned about player welfare as they would be paying these players to play and perform.

The way rugby is set up the rugby unions make money via the international matches and a percentage of that revenue flows down back to the clubs. The Rugby 360 league would generate money for the players and for a few investors and not benefitting the sport in general.

The 8 rugby unions making this statement barring any player from representing their country is a serious blow to Rugby 360. Any aspiring rugby player will have goals of representing their country and this is noy just about money. Playing test rugby is the pinnacle of the sport and to be denied that opportunity is not worth the $1 million or $2 million payday.

International rugby players make a decent living and for those stars that play in different leagues around the world whilst representing their countries can earn $2 million plus. Being offered $1 million to play for 8 weeks knowing it would jeopardize and end your international career is already a non starter.

The Rugby 360 League was looking to lure around 300 players to their rebel league and I cannot see that amount of players joining. The only players who would be interested are those players out of favor with their international squads and are on the verge of retirement. This would be players over the age of 32/33 at the end of their careers looking for a bumper pay day before retirement.

The impact of having these inflated salaries thrown around is that players will be offered more financially to stay with their clubs and international teams. If the salaries were 10 x the difference only then would there be a problem and why this Rugby 360 is a non starter from the get go.

Rugby 360 has not only targeted rugby players, but have looked at rugby league players in Australia and again are going to find it hard to recruit players. No up and coming player is going to be tempted by any financial offer knowing there are huge consequences with high risk. If the Rugby 360 league started next year as planned and did not take off then it could be canned within 2 years and then what is the future for those players?

The other question is would normal rugby fans support this new rebel league and I have my doubts. Why would you support a certain team if there is no history besides supporting your favorite players. Having an extra 2 months of rugby making it an all year round sport would be over kill in my opinion and all sport needs a break. Not only do the players need a break, but fans do as well as this could become stale very quickly.

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