R360 will be a soulless financial disaster which won’t kill NRL or rugby union, but the damage will last for years
While R360 waves millions at elite players, the competition cannot buy what matters most. And when it fails, rugby union and the NRL will have survived, albeit with some lasting damage.
Robert Craddock
Robert Craddock
Comment
2 min read
October 8, 2025 - 4:00PM
News Sport Network
NRL: Payne Haas' management has put R360 talks on hold.
R360 has not even seen a ball kicked in anger and already we know the big winners … the players who say no to joining it.
Most will get a pay rise they never expected. All will have their reputations slightly enhanced. None will be branded rebels, not that it matters much.
They might even get to play in full stadiums at home rather than a small gathering of expats and curious locals in Miami and Barcelona.
Much like LIV golf in the United States (as opposed to its Adelaide event) R360 is set for a hollow journey of the shamelessly mercenary operation it is.
Can you imagine how soul-less and unattended some of the vanilla-flavoured games will be when, let’s say, the London Leather Patches play the Dubai Drillers.
Rows of empty seats will be in the future of players who take the cash to join the R360 competition. Picture: Getty
Rows of empty seats will be in the future of players who take the cash to join the R360 competition. Picture: Getty
Who would care? The players certainly won’t so long as they get their cash.
The sad thing is that even if the new venture struggles badly it won’t really boost or matter to rugby union or rugby league because the damage will have been done.
R360’s big imprint will be not as a game changer but a disruptor.
Neither code will be put out of business by R360 but the loss of stars always hurts, particularly with two new rugby league teams on the horizon.
Rugby union, in particular, will surprise the R360 recruiters when they realise there is one thing in their code money cannot buy ... it’s soul.
There’s one thing R360 can’t buy: Soul. Picture: Getty
There’s one thing R360 can’t buy: Soul. Picture: Getty
They will find out soon enough that rugby union may have turned professional nearly 30 years ago but a part of its soul never left the amateur era.
Wales may have lost 18 Tests in a row recently but the fans will still be swinging from the rafters at Cardiff Arms Park the next time they play England. That’s rugby.
Australia has not won the Bledisloe Cup against New Zealand since 2002 yet we all tuned in to see the Wallabies lose in Perth on Saturday. That’s rugby.
The Wallabies never beat the All Blacks... but the fans still turn up in droves. Picture: Getty
The Wallabies never beat the All Blacks... but the fans still turn up in droves. Picture: Getty
History matters. In a delicious piece of timing for the traditionalists, the rugby World Cup is in Australia in 2027 and many of the top stars are addicted to its gravitas and Wednesday’s news that R360 players will be banned from playing for their country is a major move.
World Cups come and go in cricket and rugby league but in union they make legends.
Shine in a rugby World Cup and you are never forgotten. Money cannot buy that fame. It feels like their Olympics.
Payne Haas is reportedly in the sights of R360 - but why? Picture: Getty
Payne Haas is reportedly in the sights of R360 - but why? Picture: Getty
The new competition have picked some curious targets. Broncos prop Payne Haas may be the world’s best in his trade but he is not very well known in Adelaide, never mind Spain.
They want him to enhance television appeal to which we ask … really? For games played in Europe at midnight Australian time? Talk about a viewing audience of friends and family.
Our tip is that Haas will reject the rebels, get a $200,000 pay rise to stay with the Broncos and then thank his good fortune for being a beneficiary of a crazy sporting world.
Seeing pro union people panicking about r360 is awesome.
The impact on nrl will be minimal. Whilst union could be ripped apart especially as they seem to be stupid enough to be banning players
Tosser even says the cricket World Cup is behind the Union one lmao
