Rugby Australia and seven other of the world’s leading rugby nations have issued an extraordinary joint statement condemning the proposed R360 competition, warning players that participation would make them ineligible for international selection.
The statement – co-signed by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy – marks the strongest collective pushback yet against the privately funded competition that is set to shake up the global game.
It comes after this masthead revealed that Rugby Australia is planning to block any player who signs with R360 from representing the Wallabies, amid growing concern the rebel league could lure stars away from traditional competitions with multimillion-dollar offers.
The biggest names in rugby – and rugby league – have been targeted, with some offered deals worth more than $2 million per season. Argentina and Fiji are the only two nations in the men’s top 10 Test rankings who have not signed the statement.
“As a group of national rugby unions, we are urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition,” the statement, published overnight, reads.
“We all welcome new investment and innovation in rugby; and support ideas that can help the game evolve and reach new audiences; but any new competition must strengthen the sport as a whole, not fragment or weaken it.
Wallaby Max Jorgensen could be a target of R360 organisers. Credit: Getty Images
“Among our roles as national unions, we must take a wider view on new propositions and assess their impact on a range of areas, including whether they add to rugby’s global ecosystem, for which we are all responsible, or whether they are a net negative to the game.
“R360 has given us no indication as to how it plans to manage player welfare; how players would fulfil their aspirations of representing their countries, and how the competition would coexist with the international and domestic calendars so painstakingly negotiated in recent years for both our men’s and women’s games.
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