R360 all but dead after world's top unions issue warning

Senior global rugby figures believe the rebel R360 venture is all but dead unless it can find a way to appease the world's top nations.

- Robert Kitson

In a dramatic move the leading unions collectively made clear this week that players involved in the R360 competition would be ineligible for their national sides and have warned them to treat offers with "extreme caution".

Privately there is a widespread view that those pushing the R360 concept, fronted by the England World Cup winner Mike Tindall, now face a struggle to get the project off the ground if the world's top male and female players are required to forfeit their international futures to join the rebel league.

The decision of the unions to issue a coordinated statement on Tuesday followed the announcement last week that the International Rugby Players Association - the global players' union - was not backing the competition or any contracts offered to its members. R360 has also still to be officially sanctioned by World Rugby, the sport's governing body.

While World Rugby cannot comment for legal reasons relating to R360's pending official application that will not be heard until at least next June, the mood of leading rugby officials and union representatives is hardening. It is also understood that some pre-contract player agreements with R360 may have had deadlines attached that have either expired or are reaching that point.