Prem to Champ to sevens: Four rugby business stories to follow in 2026 Sport Business How do I feel about rugby in 2026? I am not too sure. We were supposed to have the launch of Ultimate Sevens and R360 but one of those has been mothballed until 2027, we were supposed to have an exciting promotion race in the Champ but ring fencing may stop that, and we’re still [...]
Newcastle Red Bulls, Dupont and ITV: Top rugby business stories of 2025 Sport Business This year really has been a 12 months where the business of rugby became a major talking point in ovalball discourse. We have always seen the odd deal here or investment there but 2025 has seen a step change across the sport, and it remains to be seen how it will pan out. So here [...]
R360 or Ultimate Sevens: Which rugby project would I invest in? Sport Business Everyone is an investment expert these days, with a proposal they say will save rugby and a project that will see a return on that backing. Whether it is the Prem Rugby franchising project, a developing league in the United States or South America, the delayed R360 proposal or the Ultimate Sevens project; there’s an [...]
R360 launch delayed until 2028 after unions threaten players with bans November 28, 2025 R360 chiefs insist they remain “absolutely determined to bring it to life at full scale and with maximum global impact” after delaying the launch of the rugby franchise league until 2028. Organisers and investors including City grandee Martin Gilbert and former England international Mike Tindall had intended to start the globetrotting competition in 2026 but [...]
Prem Rugby should consider radical shake-up of player transfer market November 28, 2025 The best thing about the football off-season is the transfer speculation, deal agreements and player announcements. Watching teams bid £100m for a player is somewhat grotesque but it is also addictive, and transfer deadline day is some of the best live sports news around. Rugby has none of this. That’s mostly because players tend to [...]
British Lions vows to ban players who defect to R360 rugby breakaway November 26, 2025 British and Irish Lions chiefs have landed another blow on R360’s plans by warning they will not pick any player who signs up for the planned rugby franchise league. It follows England, Ireland, New Zealand and five other leading unions adopting the same stance last month and comes less than a year before R360’s proposed [...]
Nations Championship will bring a tectonic shift in sport, say rugby chiefs November 17, 2025 Rugby’s new Nations Championship, which starts next year and will pit the best of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres against each other, “signals a tectonic shift in the sport” says Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison. The biennial competition will comprise three rounds apiece in July and November followed by a three-day Finals Weekend, the inaugural [...]
R360 chiefs hit back at NRL 10-year ban ‘threats’ to rugby players October 15, 2025 R360 chiefs have hit back at “threats” made to players after the NRL said it would ban those who engage with the rebel league for 10 years. A number of rugby unions came out last week insisting players who ditched their clubs for the start-up Formula 1-style globetrotting league would not be picked for their [...]
Exclusive: R360 want season launch at Barcelona FC’s Camp Nou October 14, 2025 R360 organisers want to launch the first edition of their new global rugby franchise competition next year at the redeveloped Camp Nou in Barcelona. 2 October 2026 has been penciled in as R360’s launch date – despite setbacks in recent weeks which have seen the eight biggest unions announce that any players who join the [...]
Rugby unions vs R360 spat is the sport’s failures in a nutshell October 10, 2025 When I look from the outside at the recent statement spat between many of the leading rugby unions and the rebel R360 start-up, I cannot help but hark back to the 2020 election for chairman of World Rugby. In the blue corner was the incumbent Sir Bill Beaumont, backing the status quo but wanting to [...]