'The Hollywood of rugby': Meet the US investors planning to launch the world's biggest rugby competition
Some of rugby’s global stars could soon find themselves playing in the United States if a group of American investors deliver on their word of creating a new league that has been labelled “the Hollywood” of the sport.
The National Rugby Football League, which has links to the NFL, is set to be launched in two years’ time, with a £7 million (US$8.7m) salary cap equal to that of the Premiership in England.
With plans for an eight-team competition to be held during the NFL off-season between April and July, the proposed league has been likened to that of cricket’s glamorous Indian Premier League.
“Our ambition is to be the biggest league in the world,” Michael Clements, the NRFL commissioner, told The Telegraph.
In pursuit of achieving that, Clements wants to attract the game’s biggest names to his prospective competition.
“Our goal is to put the best product on the pitch so we will need some of the best athletes, whether or not they are the names you mentioned I can’t say,” he said when asked if the likes of two-time World Rugby player of the year Beauden Barrett and England star Maro Itoje were on his hitlist.
Leading rugby agent Hilton Houghton, who represents World Cup-winning Springboks captain Siya Kolisi among others, doubled down on Clements’ comments after being courted by the NRFL.
“They want to make it the Hollywood of rugby,” Houghton told The Telegraph.
“This won’t be a dumping ground for international players. It will be more like the IPL players, where you bring a Ben Stokes or AB de Villiers as your sprinkling of stardust on top of largely domestic squads.”
Clements believes that 16-game season would be an attractive alternative for players on either side of the globe.
Whether it’s through Europe’s lengthy club competitions or a stint in Super Rugby followed by an extensive international calendar, players would face a far less arduous schedule should they commit to the NRFL.
“Players will be paid on par with the big leagues but, making a comparison with the Premiership, they will play half the games,” Clements said.
“Playing half the amount of game time allows the recovery and recuperation and helps the welfare of the player. When you are done playing, you can have a productive life and you are not beat up.”
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Tweaks to the laws of the game would be made to “Americanise” the sport in a bid to appeal to the nation’s demographic, which Clements told The Telegraph would help put rugby in the shop window of the rich American sporting landscape.
“The question has to be asked: How can rugby be better positioned?” he said.
“When you look at the top valued sports properties in Forbes’ list, rugby is not there. Once it steps up from behind the curtain and is presented in the highest class fashion then we are going to raise the bar.”
There is already a professional rugby competition in the United States in the form of Major League Rugby, which was in its third season before the coronavirus outbreak forced its cancellation.
MLR had lured the services of some notable rugby figures for its 2020 campaign, included the likes of two-time World Cup-winning All Blacks centurion Ma’a Nonu and former France captain Mathieu Bastareaud.
However, that league would have to compete for attention and player availability against the NRFL should the latter competition get up and running by its slated start date of 2022.
Leading players in Australia are looking to give rugby in the country an injection of fresh air by proposing a radical new concept inspired by the NFL.https://t.co/m4XcSCy0nf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 11, 2020
It isn’t the first time the NRFL has attempted to establish itself as a professional rugby league after Clements initially founded the organisation in 2014.
Over the course of nine months, the NRFL hosted two combines featuring over 130 athletes – including around 50 with NFL experience – in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
Attempts to field a team or a competition fell flat, though, when an exhibition match in August 2015 between the Leicester Tigers and a composite side made up of players from the combines and international stars was scrapped after USA Rugby and World Rugby withheld sanctioning.
Another professional American rugby competition, PRO Rugby, failed to last beyond one season following its maiden campaign in 2016.
The six-team league, which featured players such as ex-All Blacks Mils Muliaina and Jamie Mackintosh, as well as former star USA Eagles wing Takudzwa Ngwenya, enjoyed a solitary season which finished with the Denver Stampede being crowned as inaugural champions.
The competition folded in 2017 amid financial turmoil, where players and executives claimed they had been left with unpaid salaries following disputes between the league and both USA Rugby and Rugby Canada.
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments