‘Fantasy land’: NRL club bosses attack R360 and back sanctions on defecting players

6 hours ago 3

The clubs have held a meeting with the NRL over the threat of Rugby 360 and backed the governing body as it explores legal options regarding protective measures and sanctions for defecting players and agents.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo spoke to club CEOs in a phone hook-up on Friday morning and allayed the fears of team bosses.

Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys also spoke with several club chairmen this week. He will take the views of the clubs to the commission to discuss options available to the NRL.

It is unclear whether the NRL has the legal right to ban defecting players from returning, but the code is keen to explore potential measures to protect the sport from a raid on its talent.

There is also a focus on player agents and what action is available to the NRL when it comes to managers who push their clients to the rebel competition.

South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly said the clubs would support whatever protective measures the ARLC imposes.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo and South Sydney CEO Blake Solly.

“We aren’t sure what sanctions the ARLC will be able to impose or introduce, but Peter, Andrew and the commission have the full support of the NRL clubs,” Solly said.

“We have little detail about R360. But it looks aimed at disrupting the established RU [rugby union] and rugby league clubs and competitions around the world; with no investment into participation or development pathways. It looks to pirate the work done by rugby union and league clubs around the world for some private investors to make a quick buck.”

As part of the R360 pitch, all players will be able to choose their country of residence and won’t be asked to reside in their franchise location.

That has opened the door to the potential for players to base themselves in tax-free countries. That would allow them to almost double their actual income.

Payne Haas’ agent has told R360 bosses that his client will not hold discussions with the organisation unless it is willing to meet a minimum fee of $3 million a season. In Australia, his pre-tax income would need to be close to $5.5 million to achieve the same earnings.

Solly is sceptical of the scheme.

“A few of us CEOs have been around rugby league for long enough to see these ‘tax-free’ schemes come and go before,” Solly said.

“Image Rights agreements in Guernsey and Jersey; registered offshore pension schemes and all sorts of schemes that players were promised if they moved to the UK or Europe. They never last and there is always a tax bill for the club or the player.

“There is no way the ATO [Australian Tax Office] or HMRC [His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the UK] are going to allow players to run off and join a competition to earn millions of dollars for a few years, base themselves in a tax haven – then waltz back into Australia or the UK without paying tax. That is fantasy land.”

The ARL Commission will meet next week. V’landys declined to comment on Friday but has previously called R360 a “competition out of a Corn Flakes box”.

Rugby Australia and seven of the world’s leading rugby union nations issued a joint statement condemning R360 and warning players that participation would make them ineligible for international selection.

The statement – co-signed by the unions of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy – is the strongest pushback yet against the privately funded competition.

Argentina and Fiji are the only nations in the men’s top 10 Test rankings who have not signed the statement.

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