RugbyRebels

Puja wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 10:30 am As a connoisseur of the various efforts to launch rugby competitions in the USA over the years, it's incredible to me that media are giving any credence to this at all. Articles about LRZ's options for returning to union seriously touting that he could go back to Glaws, or go get money in Japan or Pro D2, or maybe Red Bull would like him as a statement signing for Newcastle, or maybe he can go to R360 - like they're equally plausible and legitimate options!

The crux is the players - I'm sure LRZ could sign an exclusive contract with R360 if he really wanted, but he'd be playing with himself. The concept is worthless without having all the superstars involved and they won't jump until everyone else has jumped as well and it's clear that R360 has taken over. All this stuff about "300 players have signed contracts expressing interest" is complete nonsense. I'm fairly confident that Maro Itoje probably *has* signed something saying that, if R360 does happen to become the main event, he'd like to be involved and get some of that money, but it's not going to be something that will involve him leaving Saracens and England to go join a rival league - it'll just be ifs and in-the-event-thats.

The second issue is the IRB. Without their sanction, there's no referees, no pitches, no insurance, probably a dozen other things that I'm not considering - without them getting on board, it's not "rugby union"; it's an entirely new sport being set up from scratch that just happens to play by the same rules. I suppose they could potentially be bribed into acquiescence, but it would take Saudi Investment Fund levels of money, given that it would be a horrendous risk to tear up all of the existing structures for a pie-in-the-sky, hope-and-a-prayer, completely unproven competition. And that's assuming the bribe is big enough to get all the member unions on board as well - can't see the RFU and FFR coming cheap.

I suppose they could go down the route of a complete schism from union and become a new sport, but acquiring their own refs, acquiring their own insurance, acquiring facilities and permissions, competing for players, sponsorship, medical staff, coaches - all against the background of of the union "establishment" being obstructionist and working to thwart them. If there's one thing that the history of rugby league taught us, it's that the union powers-that-be can be petty, vindictive bitches when threatened with a competitor - and frankly, I'd be surprised if the league PTB weren't also petty and obstructionist to a new code as well, as the last thing they need is someone else muddying the name of "rugby". Take all the added expense of the IRB fighting an existential threat, and I think that's taking the costs even out of the reach of the SIF and certainly beyond any hope of profiting from the thing!

Given all that, it is a press release, nothing more.

Puja

Sandydragon wrote: ↑Thu Aug 07, 2025 11:36 pm Insurance and refs is also key, but probably not insurmountable.

Sandydragon wrote: ↑Thu Aug 07, 2025 11:36 pmBut this only works if there is wide scale buy in. And if the UK gets one franchise based in London (there may be more but equally who knows) are we all supposed to stop supporting our existing teams to support that? I’m not seeing the huge fan base transition here.