South African URC teams join national union in sounding alarm over R360 competition

The franchises believe the breakaway tournament could disrupt squad stability, undermine existing structures, and tempt top players away with big-money offers.

Reports suggest that R360 will initially feature six to eight men's teams and four women's teams, aiming to attract around 300 of the world's best players.

It is also reported that the fee for a top-tier, non-Springbok player could be as high as R10 million for one R360 season.

On Tuesday, the national unions of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, and Italy said in a joint statement that players who joined R360 would make themselves ineligible for national team selection.

"As a group of national rugby unions, we are urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition," a joint statement from the nations read.

"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.

"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.

"These are all issues that would have been much better discussed collaboratively, but those behind the proposed competition have not engaged with or met all unions to explain and better understand their business and operating model.

"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."

Next year's inaugural R360 is set to take place in two phases - from April to June and again from August to September.