Brian Moore accuses Mike Tindall of 'cash grab' over radical rebel league : Planet Rugby

Former England hooker Brian Moore has criticised Mike Tindall over his rebel league idea accusing him and the proposal of a ‘cash grab’.

It was revealed last week that the 2003 Rugby World Cup winner was one of the key players behind ‘Rugby360’, a breakaways league which is designed to take the game around the world and make the sport more appealing to a wider audience.

But Moore is not buying that notion and believes that it will not benefit rugby in any way, shape or form.

‘Not for the good of rugby’

“What nobody dares say is that the central purpose of challenger brands like R360 is to damage existing and competing brands, like Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket,” he wrote in his Telegraph column.

“This is not a proposal for the good of rugby – it is a simple cash grab.”

It is reportedly taking inspiration from the likes of the Indian Premier League in cricket, as well as Formula One and the NFL.

There are suggestions that they are looking to create 12 franchises that play matches at iconic stadiums around the world and are hoping to attract some of the sport’s biggest stars, who could earn lucrative deals.

Moore remains unconvinced, however, and insists some key questions need answering, suggesting Tindall’s claims are not backed by evidence.

“Figurehead Mike Tindall claimed in the prospectus that ‘clubs around the world are feeling the strain and are being propped up by the international game,’ and that ‘rugby’s lack of innovation and ability to change risks losing its appeal to new audiences and its younger market’,” Moore wrote.

“If R360 wants to make claims, it must answer questions properly. When they highlight the fan and player experience, what exactly do they mean and how will they improve it?

“It is not good enough to criticise without definition or rely on some Field of Dreams-like ‘If you build it, they will come’.

“How do they propose to fulfil their stated aim for a faster-paced and more exciting game? Which laws, if any, are they going to change?

“These claims need evidencing and how will any proposed changes address their vaunted claim about player welfare? What do they propose for the British and Irish Lions?

“We go on. Where are these franchises to be based? The current Premiership proposals at least target existing clubs and supporters. Where will these new fans come from?”

Need World Rugby support

Moore also suggests that the league would do more harm and than good to the sport, potentially creating division which may lead to infighting.

“I presume R360 think that international fans, and completely new supporters, can be converted with their new format, but there is little evidence that this is achievable,” he wrote.

“Without the support of the unions and World Rugby, the new league cannot exist and why would the current rugby structure allow R360 to simply take its best players, leaving the current, struggling structure to bear all the costs of grass-roots rugby, academy rugby and the emasculated professional leagues that would be left behind?

“Why would the current game allow a handful of venture capital firms or billionaires to walk off with its top assets without a fight?

“If it comes to a showdown, the only real sanction the unions have is to disbar R360’s players from their international teams. It is a battle they do not need but would be forced to enter.”

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