Wallabies coach weighs up pros and cons of rebel comp
Justin Chadwick |
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has likened the proposed rebel rugby competition R360 to cricket’s IPL, but he has his doubts about whether it will flourish.
Under ambitious plans, the breakaway rugby competition will feature teams based out of London, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Boston, Cape Town, Lisbon and Madrid, with a start date slated for October 2026.
Each round of the competition will be staged in a different city, similar to the Rugby Sevens circuit.
Contract offers of up to $1.4m a season will be on offer, with players to enter a draft to determine where they end up.
Several current Wallabies players as well as NRL stars have reportedly already been targeted.
Rugby Australia is preparing to blacklist Test players who choose to participate in the competition, in what could cause a major upheaval heading into the 2027 home World Cup.
The breakaway competition claims to have secured financial backing for three years.
Schmidt views himself as an old school traditionalist and he has mixed feelings about the proposed new competition.
“I think with a concept like 360 you tend to get further away from the roots of the game,” Schmidt said.
“And that’s where I was pretty much embedded – in the roots of the game as a young kid growing up.
“So it’s a little bit foreign, but I guess it’s a little bit akin to the IPL, isn’t it, where that was transformative to a degree to cricket.
“I’ve got to say, I really enjoy watching Big Bash. I think it’s a really good concept.
“At the same time, you know the traditions of longer-term cricket, like five-day cricket, or the games that are played for three or four days – I still see appeal in those.
“So if the balance can be maintained … I’m just not sure about so much of it and what it actually is going to look like, it’s hard to predict.”
Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa said he hadn’t looked too deeply into the new competition.
“I wouldn’t know too much on that, because they haven’t hit me up,” Alaalatoa said.
“From a player’s perspective, there’s a lot of us that have signed until the home World Cup in 2027.
“So as players we’re just focused on the next moment, and focusing on giving everything we’ve got to the state union and now, most importantly, to the Wallabies.”
T20 cricket, and competitions like the IPL, helped bring a whole new generation of fans to the sport.
Schmidt feels rugby is already doing well enough in attracting kids to the game.
“We had a sold out stadium in Allianz, and there were lots of kids,” Schmidt said in reference to the Wallabies’ recent clash with Argentina in Sydney.
“And I’ve had some unbelievable letters from kids who say how proud they are to support the Wallabies and things like that.
“I still think there is connection there, and it’s our responsibility to keep growing that connection.”
AAP
