Talkin’ bout a revolution: Why R360’s ticking clock could be a headache for Wallabies

South Africa is not an easy place to play rugby. Springbok fans are as combative as their two forward packs, there’s jetlag to overcome and so, too, the lung-straining air of the Highveld. Next weekend, the Wallabies play in Johannesburg which, at 1753m above sea level, is like playing on the top of Mount Buller.

But flying 14 hours west and flipping day and night may, for this trip at least, have some small benefit for Joe Schmidt. It will limit available business hours.

As the Wallabies prepare for one of the most consequential Rugby Championship tournaments ever, the spectre of the proposed R360 competition looms large over them, and the whole rugby world.

So far, we know only the rough outlines of R360’s secretive plans: a new rugby competition, fronted by royal hubby Mike Tindall, franchise-based like the IPL, and which tours the world, like Formula One. Private equity and TV rights will bankroll the competition, and investors can buy and run the franchises, eight men’s and four women’s.

Like LIV Golf, R360 has been pitched as a revolutionary new option in a rugby world that is traditional, slow to innovate and struggling financially. Many domestic teams in professional competitions have gone broke and collapsed.

Though initially viewed with scepticism last year – another revolution? – the process of getting R360 off the ground has been under way for some time. R360 agents have been recruiting hard and the frontmen have been holding meetings with key national and World Rugby officials.

Unlike LIV, R360 says it wants to “come in the front door” and work inside the existing system. That translates to R360 players not having to choose between Test rugby and the new competition.

Mostly, that’s just pragmatic. World Rugby needs to sign off on the competition and boss Alan Gilpin said recently the observation of Regulation 9 (the international player release windows) is a non-negotiable.

Also, R360 needs stars to fill out rosters, and even with extraordinary money on offer, most of them would opt for Test rugby if it came down to one or the other.

The big question, however, is will R360 actually get off the ground – and if so, how long can it stay in the air?

The circular puzzle is that the competition needs lots of money to launch and run – hundreds of millions at least – but prospective funders want players on board before they commit. But players and their agents need to know the money is real before they commit, and the offers also have to be eye-popping enough to lure stars away from their known worlds. Which needs lots of money … and so on.

So, to unlock funding, unnamed investors reportedly gave R360 a deadline of October 1 to sign 200 men’s players (of a cohort that’ll eventually get up to above 300).

That looks on track to happen, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Reports say R360 has signed 150 to 160 players to binding pre-contractual agreements for a short comp at the end of 2026, before a full launch in 2027. The 16-round competition would run between March and August-September. There would be four blocks of four weekends in different parts of the world (Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific et cetera), with breaks in between.

The names of recruits are pretty well-guarded. England stars such as George Ford and Henry Slade have been linked, and multiple players from South Africa, Argentina and the Pacific Islands have reportedly signed up.

It’s not known how many Australian players have inked, but a source familiar with plans said R360 was “aiming high” and one Wallaby squad member in South Africa has told teammates he is close to signing. The NRL is another well for R360, and Ryan Papenhuyzen, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jye Gray have reportedly been made offers. Carter Gordon is also a target, according to informed sources.

To secure signatures, the money being offered is “life changing for some”, according to an informed source, who also said R360 was not interested in signing a “dad’s army” of veterans. It is targeting players under 30, who have played Test rugby in the past two years. Over 30s have to have current relevance.

The list of 200 has to have a certain percentage of these stars to unlock the funding, a source said.

Australians? Sources say several star women have been approached, including Maya Stewart, Desi Miller and Maddi Levi.

Many Wallabies stars are already contracted to the 2027 Rugby World Cup or beyond, so they’re in the interested party category, looking to the future.

But a handful are off contract next year, and of them the prize R360 target will undoubtedly be Max Jorgensen, who was brilliant in the Lions series. Jorgensen is managed by Clinton Schifcofske, who also manages Papenhuyzen and Gray.

On his current trajectory, Jorgensen will be a first-picked Wallabies star at the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The Roosters will undoubtedly have another crack at Jorgensen, too, but the 20-year-old loves rugby and is odds-on to stay in the code so he can play in a World Cup at home.

The door for a R360 move was eased a little further open last week, too, when Rugby Australia casually discarded the Giteau Law, a move that hasn’t gone down well with players who had been led to believe it does matter in recent negotiations.

If he is contemplating an R360 payday, however, the big question for Jorgensen is whether playing a season in a start-up for the Miami Marlins or the Berlin Bears in 2027 would be of sufficient quality to a) ensure selection for the Wallabies’ World Cup squad, or b) dominate at the tournament.

RA could take Jorgensen off the table for with an early extension but it is also wary of bidding against a competition that doesn’t exist yet.

How much Super Rugby is hurt by R360 remains to be seen, given they’d run at the same time. New Zealanders are sticking to their policy of playing at home to be eligible for Tests, and the selling point to worn-out Brits and Europeans of switching from a 30-game domestic season to a 16-game one isn’t a huge deal for Aussies. They have one already.

But money talks, and if R360 gets off the ground, there is a sense the Super League-sized offers around now won’t last forever.

That’s a big if, though. Many high-level Australian officials can’t get past the question marks about where the hundreds of millions of dollars will keep coming from, annually. Revenue levels are unknown and the bottomless petro-pockets of the Saudi PIF are not involved.

But as the deadline clock ticks to October 1, in coming weeks, Schmidt still has a potential disruptive factor on his hands. Players in his squad could have big offers to consider and big decisions to make. Phones will be buzzing.

As far as focus goes, the isolation of a tour bubble and jetlag in a different timezone may finally be of some help.