The proposed R360 series launch has been postponed until 2028

R360’s initial target of an inaugural event in October 2026, with eight men’s teams and four women’s teams, has come under pressure due to organizers’ failure to gain approval from World Rugby.

After receiving more than 100 pages of plans from R360, the game’s governing body had questions about organizing the event and whether players would be released to play internationally.

The closest World Rugby came to ratifying R360 was in June, just four months before the planned start of the new circuit.

“Ensuring the wellbeing of players, supporting their international ambitions and working collaboratively with the global game remains core to our approach,” added Tindall, who said in September.

R360’s decision to postpone by two years means it will avoid trying to launch in the same year as the men’s Rugby World Cup and Lions Women’s Premier Tour.

However, the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup – an event that brings together the best domestic teams from both hemispheres and which has been accelerated by the R360 threat – is also scheduled to take place in 2028.

R360 now faces the challenge of restarting player recruitment, having suffered numerous criticism in its initial quest for stars.

Sale and England fly-half George Ford have rejected that approach, with Northampton’s Finn Smith, another reported target, also extending his contract with his current club.

International stars Finn Russell and Antoine Dupont also renewed their deals with Bath and Toulouse respectively as R360 tried to fill out their roster.

R360 insists 200 players have signed provisional agreements, and that a concerted move against their project by leading Test nations and the prospect of a decade-long NRL ban has caused only a small number to pull out.

Tyndall added: “As a board, we remain absolutely determined to activate R360 at scale and with maximum global impact. We are building something bold and new that will resonate globally – and we can’t wait to show it to the world in 2028.”

R360 has announced Scottish businessman Martin Gilbert, who was involved in unsuccessful talks to launch a third professional Scottish rugby team in Aberdeen a decade ago, as chairman and investor.

Gilbert has been involved with the project since at least December 2024, having been named a company director alongside Hooper and fellow R360 supporter Mark Spurs, a prominent agent.