SA Rugby is reportedly unaware of any current Springboks who have signed contracts with the R360 breakaway league.
According to reports, if the new global franchise competition is not sanctioned by World Rugby, players contracted to it would have to give up their Test ambitions – including any hopes of featuring at the 2027 World Cup – to participate.
The Telegraph reported on Friday that four “high-profile” Boks have allegedly committed to the 12-franchise tournament, which is set to launch in September 2026 and has been compared to cricket’s IPL and LIV Golf.
The event, backed by former England centre Mike Tindall, ex-Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper and the lawyer behind both IPL and LIV Golf, reportedly already has around 160 men signed to pre-contracts, most of whom have played Test rugby in the past year.
However, Rapport claims SA Rugby has no knowledge of any current internationals among them, suggesting they are likely former Boks or players prepared to risk their Test careers.
Players registered with their national unions – and by extension World Rugby – would be ineligible for unsanctioned events.
Salaries in the competition are rumoured to start at around $900,000 (R16-million) per season.
“As far as I understand, these are non-binding contracts, just like Kerry Packer’s rebel movement in the 1990s – and nothing came of that,” former Wallaby Simon Poidevin told Rapport. “Unless there’s really big money behind it, I can’t see R360 posing a real threat to rugby.”
It draws upon the Indian Premier League (IPL) and LIV Golf as sporting disruptors and has reportedly received interest from backers across the Premier League, Formula One and the NFL.
