I agree, why would I watch it? Not my club, state or national team. Not in my country and a few {maybe} players I know of. I don't follow players, I follow clubs.
R360: Kick-Off Delayed Til 2028
- Thread starter Dismal Pillock
- Start date
Upthemaroon!
Larry Dwyer (12)
The appetite for it is mostly based on the group of people that do go to a sellout Optus Stadium this weekend, but are not part of the 8000 or so fans at HBF park watching the Force during SRP (Super Rugby Pacific). I don't know if those people will watch R360, but there is a rather large latent pool of casual rugby viewers that isn't yet mobilized/targeted/activated/whateverbuzzwordyouwanttocallit by club rugby.
Because the Wallabies vs All Blacks is a premium event steeped in history.
Madrid vs Miami, even if it does include a chunk of very good players is not that. I fail to see how this would be the thing that captures the attention of casual fans.
Upthemaroon!
Larry Dwyer (12)
Oh don't get me wrong, me neither. Just wanted to highlight there is a large pool of 'potential' fans that a couple of spreadsheet blazers want to mobilize. Don't think this set up will work, but there is a massive opportunity there.
Tomthumb
John Thornett (49)
People are going to Optus becasue it's The All Blacks vs the Wallabies; NZ vs Australia. It's tribal, it's passionate
There is no hook for casual viewers to watch random teams from random places play a game with zero stakes
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
It is so very clearly marketed to the English fan, particularly avoiding the depths of winter with match blocks - if I was still living in London, I'd be booking a rugby trip to Madrid or Lisbon for a game weekend in a heartbeat. Not sure that's particularly sustainable after the novelty wears off though.
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
That regulation (or really just guideline at this point) favours R360 and is something they'd be happy to see - a 16ish game season aligns perfectly with the 14 or so test matches most tier 1 teams are topping out at. Much easier for a player to get that balance then in top 14 with their 26 game season.
Tomthumb
John Thornett (49)
Maybe, I think the novelty would wear off pretty fast though
And are these teams going to practice at all or just show up a couple of days before the event? Could be some pretty dire rugby in that case
Upthemaroon!
Larry Dwyer (12)
Yeah fair, I love the tribalism and passion as well don't get me wrong. There are just a fair bit of people wanting to have a reason to go on a weekend away, get steaming with the boys (or girls), see some big hits and offloads and put no more effort into their fandom. The SailGP also works for that reason.
edit: And there is a whole layer of sports washing for Saudia Arabia which I hate with a passion and will be the main reason I won't watch it. There is just a large contingency of people that do not care about that and want a good piss up somewhere that is not their city.
The Ghost of Raelene
Tim Horan (67)
Tokyo Godzillas v the Boston Stranglers should light it up.
Has the feeling of 7s after Rio which seemed to be on a high but has since peaked and seems on the way back down.
Has the feeling of 7s after Rio which seemed to be on a high but has since peaked and seems on the way back down.
Dctarget
Jason Little (69)
Depending on the funding rumours (the players are signing with the UAE rugby union), we might be missing the point.
The NEOM Line was never more than a fantastical project to generate conversation/attract top class professionals whilst never turning a profit (read: lose billions and billions).
Even closer to home Japan's Top League clearly don't give a shit about fan attendance and footprint, yet they're sustainably paying absolute overs for our middling players.
The NEOM Line was never more than a fantastical project to generate conversation/attract top class professionals whilst never turning a profit (read: lose billions and billions).
Even closer to home Japan's Top League clearly don't give a shit about fan attendance and footprint, yet they're sustainably paying absolute overs for our middling players.
Omar Comin'
Peter Fenwicke (45)
I share a lot of the scepticism you and others have, and on balance expect it to fail. But it's not impossible for new competitions and new clubs or franchises to build a following and be successful.
Why not be open minded about it and wait to see what it's actually like first? A lot of the big soccer clubs and NBA teams etc have a lot more fans outside their home city than within it - this competition is trying to engineer that sort of global supporter base from day 1. How do we know that's not possible?
What if it's a huge success and becomes the F1/NBA/EPL of rugby and results in the sport being much bigger at every level? If some people with very deep pockets want to give that a crack, even though the odds are small, then I'm interested to see the attempt. At the very least we'll get a few gun NRL players switching over for a couple of years and some may stick around and strengthen the Wallabies.
PhilClinton
Mark Ella (57)
Need to be mindful we are a small group of Australians on an Aussie rugby forum. Whilst we all feel some degree of ownership over the sport due to our history, this comp is looking at much larger audience markets.
The sports market in the USA is saturated but I think they’re much more open to supporting this type of event due to the nature of their sports leagues. Same with the Europeans. Ironically for V’landys (the horse racing guy) the NRL Vegas launch may have been something used as a positive when finding R360 investors.
I did find it interesting when AAA was asked about R360 this week he said he didn’t know anything and he hadn’t been approached.
It makes me wonder if they’re actually going to play a different set of rules altogether - or are they actually planning on paying 60 props $1M to run around and pack scrums. I’m not sure there are even enough genuine world class front rowers to pick from.
The sports market in the USA is saturated but I think they’re much more open to supporting this type of event due to the nature of their sports leagues. Same with the Europeans. Ironically for V’landys (the horse racing guy) the NRL Vegas launch may have been something used as a positive when finding R360 investors.
I did find it interesting when AAA was asked about R360 this week he said he didn’t know anything and he hadn’t been approached.
It makes me wonder if they’re actually going to play a different set of rules altogether - or are they actually planning on paying 60 props $1M to run around and pack scrums. I’m not sure there are even enough genuine world class front rowers to pick from.
HogansHeros
Bill McLean (32)
Im going to guess it will be an alternate set of rules, going a similar way to Twiggy Ball or Global Rapid Rugby. But surely they cant get rid of scrums altogether.
Pfitzy
Phil Waugh (73)
I'm loving the league crowd coming out with pitchforks and torches over it.
Peter "RugbaLeg" V'Landys is now threatening consequences to players joining it, after earlier dismissing it as a non-starter.
Buddy, I've got news which might shock you: most of the agents in the NRL don't give a fuck if their guy is playing tiddlywinks if it means they're getting more spondulicks.
Peter "RugbaLeg" V'Landys is now threatening consequences to players joining it, after earlier dismissing it as a non-starter.
Buddy, I've got news which might shock you: most of the agents in the NRL don't give a fuck if their guy is playing tiddlywinks if it means they're getting more spondulicks.
Major Tom
Peter Fenwicke (45)
I find this new comp concept weird. Seemed like an excuse to access Saudi money. Can’t see how it’s going to revolutionise or innovate the sport apart from playing on a circuit and providing entertainment options? Pretty much what 7’s offers. It seems to just be copy and paste of what other sports do. And it gets compared to the IPL and LIV as disrupters which I don’t think is applicable. IPL took a new and shortened format of the existing game and plonked it in the most cricket obsessed country in the world. Whilst revolutionary at the time, in retrospect I can’t believe it didn’t get up sooner! And LIV really stemmed from combating built up control of the PGA. It also was committed to getting international players to play in markets where demand was high. I can’t see how the proposed R360 circuit locations fits this.
I’d rather Saudi money was pumped into the rugby club challenge.
How does the Top 14 feel about this comp?
I’d rather Saudi money was pumped into the rugby club challenge.
How does the Top 14 feel about this comp?
Reading some articles about R360 appears one of the big selling points is players will notionally be based in the Middle East, presumably Dubai and effectively get paid tax free - which substantially increased take home pay.
While this will likely work for UK or Euro based players other than for the very young Aussies, my understanding is it's much harder to lose your Aus tax residency if you have set down roots (eg own property, leaving family behind etc).
So it actually may impact Aus Rugby (and NRL) less than elsewhere.
In my mind it's kind of like the Indian Premier League.. sure it's got great players but I don't have much interest in actually watching it.
While this will likely work for UK or Euro based players other than for the very young Aussies, my understanding is it's much harder to lose your Aus tax residency if you have set down roots (eg own property, leaving family behind etc).
So it actually may impact Aus Rugby (and NRL) less than elsewhere.
In my mind it's kind of like the Indian Premier League.. sure it's got great players but I don't have much interest in actually watching it.