‘R360 is not a league’ – Premiership Women’s Rugby boss Genevieve Shore

But Shore said R360, which organizers said had received investment from various funds and individuals, was fundamentally different from PWR, which backed the rest of the game.

“Our league is home to over 500 players, ranging from 18-year-olds to players in their 30s to players with 100 caps for their country,” Shore said.

“However, our job is not just about the athlete who plays 100 times.

“Our clubs have invested millions in schools, colleges, university partnerships, creating transition projects and working with the Rugby Football Union who are doing the same.

“If R360 is a private, limited company, they don’t have to do that. Their goal is to do something innovative and exciting at the top of the game.

“What you keep reading is that they plan to break even in year two. So the goal is to make money for the people who invested.”

In their joint statement, the unions said R360 was “designed to extract profits and funnel them back to a very small elite, potentially undermining the investment made by national unions and existing leagues in community rugby, player development and participation pathways”.

Yann Roubert, head of the French club game, in question, external “You can’t build a sport by bypassing the people who built it,” he said Wednesday.

R360 said it would “put players first” and offer the highest standards of support, and that the investment and attention it would attract could help the sport as a whole.