'We need it': Why Eddie Jones is backing R360

NEWS: Eddie Jones, Japan’s Australian coach, has broken ranks with the world rugby establishment by coming out strongly in support of the rebel league R360.

In an interview with The Times, Jones revealed he believes rugby needs R360 given the state of club rugby.

The rugby world last week issued a strong condemnation of the rebel league, with Australia joining other major nations in informing players that signing up would render them ineligible for international selection.

New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, and Italy are on the same wavelength.

Fronted by former England star Mike Tindall, R360 is scheduled to shake up the establishment and kick off next year.

Organisers are planning for six men’s teams and four women’s with franchises based in London, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Boston, Cape Town, Lisbon and Madrid.

But the former England and Australia coach has become the latest to back the breakaway competition.

“I think we need it, mate,” Jones boldly stated.

“You think about what World Series Cricket did for cricket. It changed the whole game from being a drab game to being an exciting game that people wanted to get involved in. And I think that’s part of the problem of rugby at the moment.

“Test match rugby is that. But we need another level that’s an entertainment level that brings more fans and more sponsors and more commercialism into the game to allow our more traditional levels of rugby to continue.”

He added: “We’ve got to be really, really careful about how the game goes forward. International rugby is thriving, and so we’ve got to make sure that keeps thriving.

“I think the game is going to have to go to [aligned] international windows. Football’s been at it for a lot longer than us.

“And that’s the reason they have international windows, so they can separate their domestic leagues, look after the domestic leagues, so their best players play in the domestic leagues.

“We know in most of the countries now, apart from maybe France and Japan, domestic rugby is really struggling financially.

“Top 14 is doing well because of Canal Plus, and in Japan it’s the companies that fund the competition.

“But everywhere else the game is really struggling. We’ve just seen in America they’re down to, I think, six teams in the MLR. England’s been down to ten teams now.

“Super Rugby is running off an oily rag at the moment.”