Organizers of the Rugby Rebel League have set their September 2025 target of activating player contracts worth millions of pounds for a competition that could shake up the sport.
Ambitious promoters are seeking out some of the game’s biggest stars for competitions that will be staged around the world like a traveling circus.
Headline players have already been offered pre-contracts, which include complex buyouts from existing club deals.
Mail Sports understands that in order for a pre-contract to be concluded, three conditions must be met by September next year.
Terms include the sale of eight franchises, an international TV deal and the registration of 200 players as part of the financing process.
If successful, the first competition could take place in summer 2026. Organizers are hoping to secure hundreds of millions of pounds of funding from the United States and the Middle East to recruit the sport’s frontline stars.
Former England center Mike Tindall is said to have been consulted during the concept planning stage.
The World Cup winner has publicly criticized rugby’s existing structure in the past.
Former England international and 2003 World Cup winner Mike Tindall is said to have been consulted during the concept planning stage.
Tindall is critical of rugby’s existing structure and recently spoke about the value of a franchise system on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast.
‘I know you can’t change the past, but the problem is that no one went to the NFL in 1995 and said, “We’re going to do this. What are you going to do?”
‘They would probably say that your principal should run everything, sell all the franchises and all the sponsorships as one and distribute them equally across the club. Now we are trying to patch it.
‘We’ve been here (since rugby went professional). Because it was never set up properly in the first place. There was a lot of shuffling of the deck and people saying, “Oh my God, I can make money on this.” Looking back now, the only thing that really worked was to have some type of central league selling the rights to the whole league.’
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has yet to comment on the race, keeping a low profile following England’s disappointing autumn campaign and calling for his resignation after his salary was revealed to be in the seven figures.
Former England manager makes rare appearance
Lesser-profile former England defense coach Felix Jones, who continues to work from home under a strict agreement with the RFU, is set to return to the international circuit for Ireland’s match against Australia in Dublin this weekend.
Jones was shocked by the RFU and national team coach Steve Borthwick this summer when he announced his intention to quit England football just seven months after joining.
He has been working remotely on long-term projects in the UK since then, but was unable to join the team this fall after being replaced by Joe El-Abd.
Jones’ condition means he has not been seen in public for several months, but Rugby Confidential understands he will be a guest speaker in the hospitality box at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday for Ireland’s meeting with the Wallabies who close the Autumn Nations series .
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney (right) is keeping quiet after being asked to resign after his seven-figure salary was revealed.
Felix Jones will return to the international rugby pitch for Ireland’s match against Australia
Gloucester are targeting the All Blacks star.
Gloucester are interested in signing English-qualified No 8 Hoskins Sotutu after he was left out of the All Blacks squad for the autumn tour.
Sotutu has not played for New Zealand but could be eligible for England next November after completing his 36-month suspension.
Sotutu is eligible for England through his mother and could replace Zach Mercer, who heads to Toulon at Kingsholm.
Japan pranked on media call
An anxious Japanese media team was thrown into a panic on Friday night when a Zoom account claiming to be Danny Care logged into the pre-match media conference.
The JRFU suspended its media schedule after Care accused Eddie Jones of overseeing a toxic culture for years during his time as England coach.
Jones, who is currently with the Japan national team, canceled his pre-match press conference at the last minute and was replaced by his assistant Neil Hatley. The independent presenter seemed unaware of the back story when he asked Care to raise his virtual hand and ask him a question.
I heard a support worker in the background say, ‘Is Care in a meeting?’ Hatley was in a state of confusion and said ‘DC… Is that you? ‘Is this really Danny?’
Care insisted he had nothing to do with the online profiles and suspected Owen Slot, a senior sports reporter for the Times, as the person behind them. Rugby Confidential understands Slot was not behind the prank.
Hoskins Sotutu has not featured for New Zealand but could qualify for England next November.
Eddie Jones pulled out of his pre-match press conference after a fake Danny Care account was seen attending the Zoom session.
Care recently accused Jones of overseeing a toxic culture while he was England’s head coach.
The Springboks will be played without showers.
South Africa’s latest star, Cameron Hanekom, had to return to his Cardiff hotel on the team’s bus still in full kit after being selected for a post-match drugs test following the win over Wales.
Back-row forward Hanekom, 22, made his Springbok debut in the 45-12 hammering, playing against a team he could have represented considering he has a Welsh grandmother.
World Rugby’s doping testing randomly selected players to provide post-match samples and Hanekom was one of the players selected at the Principality Stadium.
But by the time he emerged, his teammates had already changed and were heading home. This meant Hanekom had to leave the field after the game without even showering.
Cardiff man of the match Franco Mostert started South Africa’s celebrations after the final game of the year by walking to the bus carrying a huge crate of lager.
Italian legend attends All Blacks Test
Italian football legend Alessandro Del Piero was one of the guests at Italy’s Test against the All Blacks on Saturday.
The match was held at Juventus’ home stadium, and Del Piero was presented with the number 10 Italian rugby jersey after the match.
