As with the Kerry Packer cricket circus in the 1970s and the LIV golf saga, sport's traditional overlords can periodically be blindsided by wealthy interlopers who claim they can do better. At a time when rugby could clearly do with some major fresh investment the timing was tantalising, too. One million quid a year on offer to the best 40 players? No wonder a few of them - anonymously, of course - have expressed provisional interest in grabbing the nearest available pen and signing up. The key word there, of course, being provisional. It would all depend on the nitty-gritty of the enterprise being floated.
Theoretically the idea is to replicate the Formula One model and stage 14 weekends of top-class rugby around the world, complete with a bit more pit lane glamour than you normally get at Dragons v Zebre. Eight men's franchises, around 280 top players involved, host venues in new markets, all dovetailing neatly with the existing international programme. Someone, somewhere has done some extravagant doodling on the back of a beermat. And then paid a well-connected firm of intermediaries to fly the whole kite as high as possible, via a couple of obliging media outlets, to gauge the potential public appetite.
This story is from the November 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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