R360: New Zealand Rugby joins major unions in statement to ban players from featuring in rebel league

Mike Tindall, R360's co-founder and sporting director, pictured during the Classic Wallabies-British & Irish Legends match in July. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand Rugby, along with rugby’s other major unions, has banned players from playing in R360 by promising to strip any defectors of their test status if they join.

In an unprecedented move for professional rugby, almost all of the unions of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides have put on a united front against Mike Tindall’s breakaway league.

Until now, few of the unions have willingly addressed R360 publicly, but on Tuesday, they launched a collective put-down of the concept.

New Zealand was joined by England, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy in a statement that read: “As a group of national rugby unions, we are urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition.”

“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.

“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.

“The R360 model, as outlined publicly, rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways.

“Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”

R360 claimed all along that players who sign up for its league would still be available to play test rugby but now those promises lie in tatters.

The Argentine Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, owing to the ongoing chaos and consultation in their domestic scene, were not signatories, but the latter added that they “supported the statement”.

The Welsh Rugby Union said: “The Welsh Rugby Union supports this statement, and we are considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process. As we continue to analyse and understand the proposals, we reserve the right not to select men’s and women’s players for international duty if they participate in this competition.”

Last week, the league’s organisers told 200 players that funding had been secured for the next three years for the tournament. It is scheduled to start next September but does not have World Rugby approval.

Telegraph Sport approached R360 for comment.