British and Irish Lions join ban on R360 recruits

England's Shaunagh Brown, Scot Megan Gaffney, Wales' Elinor Snowsill and Niamh Briggs of Ireland helped launch the women's Lions team in January 2024

The British and Irish Lions will bar any player who signs up for the proposed R360 competition from their landmark first women's tour in 2027.

R360, which aims to launch in October 2026, wants to recruit star names for four women's teams to compete in its globe-trotting series.

However, England, Ireland and Scotland are among the eight leading Test nations who have issued a blanket ban on picking R360 players for their men's and women's sides.

Wales did not formally join the ban as a consultation into the future of the game in the country continues, but says it supports it in principle.

While the Lions' statement does not explicitly mention men's tours - the next of which is to New Zealand in 2029 and is still in the early stages of planning - it says they "fully support" the unions' move, which covers both genders.

"The British and Irish Lions fully support the position of our constituent unions in relation to the proposed competition and will be advising that any player who decides to participate in R360 will not be eligible for selection for the 2027 tour to New Zealand," read a statement.

"This is the first ever Lions Women tour, a historic moment for women's rugby, and we want it to be the best it can be.

"With the tour just over a year and a half away, we believe it is important that players who may be selected are playing in established leagues that provide certainty on calendar and playing schedule."

It is the first time the Lions have restricted its playing pool.

They have previously picked players based at overseas clubs, such as Scotland and Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn on the 2025 trip.

"We don't have a policy that closes off anyone from being selected... we don't have any restrictions on selection," said chief executive Ben Calveley in January 2024.

R360 were reported to be circling England's Women's Rugby World Cup winning squad, with the Daily Telegraph reporting in October "a significant number" of Red Roses had signed pre-contract agreements to play at R360.

Star full-back Ellie Kildunne, who is likely to be a key part of a women's Lions side and attended the shirt launch of the men's side last year, said in October she was interested in learning more about R360.

Kildunne scored five tries in four games, including a searing effort in the final against Canada, as England lifted the Rugby World Cup in the summer

Organisers have also been confident filling out their men's roster, claiming to be close to the 200 names required, with a host of recent and current Test players provisionally committed.

However, R360 is yet to secure sanctioning from World Rugby, which wants more details over the staging of the series and the release of players for the international game.

England's Emily Scarratt, who retired as the Red Roses' all-time leading points scorer in October and is one of the women's game's most high-profile figures, said she had not had any offer to prolong her career with R360.

In the men's game, Sale and England fly-half George Ford turned down an approach, while other reported targets such as 2025 Lions tourists Finn Russell and Fin Smith have also extended their contracts with their existing clubs.

Australian rugby league's NRL has moved to retain its own stars by threatening to exile any player who switches to R360 with a 10-year ban from the league.

Meanwhile, Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney says he does not know of any England player, male or female, who is planning to sacrifice their Test career for a lucrative stint on the new circuit.

"I've not heard of one player yet - and that doesn't mean to say that they might be something that I am not aware of - but I haven't heard of an England player, male or female, who has actually signed," he told Rugby Union Weekly.

"We are not hearing any more on it, we are not getting an awful lot of factual information in terms of what is happening and what is happening next, so I don't spend any time worrying about it. We can't get distracted by things we really don't know enough about."