Revealed: 10 Wales stars sign up to R360 breakaway league, why Steve Tandy's side are resigned to losing their best talents and the new twist in battle to avoid cutting two Welsh club sides - Rugby Confidential

As England internationals continue to reject R360’s lure, there is one country among the home nations where there is ripe fruit for rugby’s breakaway league to pick.

Welsh rugby is in a state of flux. Frankly, it has been for a while. But with ongoing uncertainty about how the country’s national game will look in the future, Rugby Confidential understands leading Welsh players are keen to look elsewhere as a result.

New national head coach Steve Tandy is preparing for his first campaign in charge with Wales taking on Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa in November. Tandy will name his autumn squad next week.

But in the background, there is significant noise. In the next month, we will learn whether or not the Welsh Rugby Union will proceed with their plan to cut the number of Wales’ professional teams from four to two.

The proposal, put forward by the governing body after 18 months of on and off-field struggles, has received significant opposition. But with players unsure of their futures, Rugby Confidential understands at least 10 Wales stars have agreed to join R360 should it begin, as its bosses hope, in 2026.

They include flying wing Louis Rees-Zammit, currently with Bristol. Tomos Williams, Dewi Lake, Nicky Smith, Aaron Wainwright, Taulupe Faletau and Josh Adams are also on the new competition’s radar. All seven men are key for Wales and Tandy.

Last week, rugby’s leading unions clubbed together in unprecedented fashion to state players who sign for R360 won’t be able to play Test rugby.

R360 – who aim to spark ‘generational change’ in the domestic game by creating eight new men’s franchise teams who will play all around the world – want to work within the current international calendar.

Notably, the WRU weren’t signatories to the cross-union statement. But they said: ‘The WRU support this statement and we are considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process.

‘As we continue to analyse and understand the proposals, we reserve the right not to select men's and women's players for international duty if they participate in this competition.’

There is an acknowledgement at the WRU that it would be crazy at this stage to completely rule out Welsh players who join R360 from playing Test rugby.

Should they do so, there is a very real possibility Tandy may well lose large numbers of his starting XV. At a time when Welsh rugby is already struggling badly for strength in depth having only just ended a record run of 18 straight Test defeats, such a situation would be a huge concern.

Wales’ top stars are not only wanted by R360, but also in England and France too. Captain Jac Morgan, Wales’ only Test Lion in Australia this summer, is out of contract at the Ospreys and also has admirers around the world.

Wales No 9 and Gloucester captain Williams is a leading R360 target and has been in spectacular form at Kingsholm since he joined the English side from Cardiff.

‘Tommy has been great for us but he is out of contract - he was always going to be the sort of player R360 would go after, he fits their model,’ admitted Gloucester boss George Skivington. ‘Tommy will have a lot (of offers) in front of him. There’s no doubt about that. But we’re still talking to him and we’ll see how he feels and how strong the offers are. 

'We knew last year when the R360 chat started, Tommy would be of massive interest to them. We’ll definitely do our best to keep him.’

While the attractiveness of playing for England has seen the likes of Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and George Ford reject R360 to stay with their PREM Rugby clubs, Wales can’t bank on similar sentiment. There has been a growing feeling of dissatisfaction among the leading Wales players still based in the country at how the game there has been run.

When once it would have been unthinkable for Welsh players to turn their backs on their country, that is now no longer the case. Many are aware their employment could soon be terminated so the offer of big money to play less, with R360, is hugely attractive.

What happens next for Wales is unclear. However, well-placed sources have indicated the two-team proposal is unlikely to be ratified by the WRU board given the strength of feedback. Going to three teams is a greater possibility, but the mechanism by which that could be done is also fraught with uncertainty and problems. 

Off-field drama is again set to be an unnecessary distraction for Wales in the coming weeks. The WRU’s ticket sales for their four November Tests are also struggling with large numbers still available even for the matches against the All Blacks and Springboks.

In the meantime, the WRU have begun upgrades to their National Centre of Excellence, including improving the gym used by the age-grade sides as well as the social areas used by the players.

Tuilagi set to extend France stay 

Manu Tuilagi is in talks to extend his contract at French side Bayonne.

The former England centre made his last Test appearance in the 2024 Six Nations and then left international rugby behind when he departed Sale to move to the TOP14.

He has impressed with Bayonne, who made last season’s play-offs in France and have had a strong start to the new campaign. Tuilagi is keen to stay at Stade Jean-Dauger.

‘I’m 34 now and one of the older boys in the group, but I still feel young, I still enjoy my rugby,’ Tuilagi told me before this season began.

‘You have to enjoy it because one day, you’ll have to stop and from there, there is no going back. I’m enjoying it more than ever. I think I’ll see out my career here.’

Living with Lions? Or Lions tamed? 

The official behind-the-scenes Lions documentary of the 2025 tour will be broadcast on TNT Sports and available for fans to watch from October 31.

Since Living with Lions – which provided a brilliant insight into the 1997 trip to South Africa – the team’s official video has always been eagerly anticipated.

Although it has become increasingly sanitised in the professional era, TNT say the 2025 version will provide ‘unmatched access to showcase what it means to pull on the legendary red jersey.’

Given Lions performance guru David Nucifora covered a changing room camera to stop footage during the weather-enforced delay to the third Test with Australia, we will have to wait and see whether that does indeed prove to be the case.

Mount Stoops to see Smith shine

Manchester United ace Mason Mount went under the radar when he took in Harlequins’ London derby win over Saracens at The Stoop last weekend.

Mount has slipped out of the England picture so had time on his hands in the international break. The midfielder is a friend of Harlequins and England No 10 Marcus Smith.

South African full-back Damian Willemse was another notable attendee at the Harlequins-Saracens game.

England's schoolboy stars of the future 

The eyes of the schoolboy rugby world were on Sedbergh last Saturday as some of the best young talent in England did battle with Irish rivals.

Sedbergh School took on Dublin’s Blackrock College in a monumental battle watched by a crowd in the region of 2,000. Both are famous rugby institutions and a breeding ground for the next generation of players in their respective countries.

Blackrock edged the game 29-24, but Sedbergh second rows James Moore, who captained the team, and Nico Jones both stood out as did outside centre Oliver Ashton.

Moore and Jones are on Sale’s books and are two of a number of Sedbergh players already in England’s age-grade pathway system.