Scottish Rugby chairman McGuigan is skeptical of plans for a breakaway league – and short on details – but admits ‘it’s a mistake for us to pretend it’s not potentially a threat’

Scottish Rugby chairman John McGuigan admits the new rebel league poses a potential threat – and could have a dramatic effect on the game, both domestically and internationally.

Speaking after the governing body’s AGM on Wednesday, McGuigan said Scottish Rugby should follow the idea closely.

It is understood that the breakaway league would involve a globe-trotting competition, offered to both men and women, with lucrative contracts on offer.

A lighter schedule has also been proposed, offering an attractive alternative to international players who are fed up with overcrowded match schedules. The idea has been compared to the LIV breakaway in golf, where some of the world’s best players joined the Saudi-backed league for large sums of money.

Although skeptical about the logistics of such a move, McGuigan said it was something rugby could no longer avoid – as competition for salaries and contracts increases in professional football.

“It’s interesting,” McGuigan admitted. “I keep trying to find out more because there are all the rumors – but I haven’t been able to get hold of anyone who can explain to me what the real opportunity is.

“So someone calculated on the back of a packet of cigarettes what it would cost, because you have to pay all these players and they are all looking for a reasonable amount of money and on top of that you have to build all the infrastructure surrounding it.

“They did a calculation at a billion (pounds) and by the time we worked on that and started looking at who would commit to that, we couldn’t really get to the point where we could see that working.

“That said, the qualification of all of this was I’m sure someone did it at the PGA when golf came along, so I think we’re not failing to see it as potentially as an area that we need to look closely as this could impact the leagues.

“I think the way it’s expressed at the moment is that it wouldn’t impact your international players because they would still be released for internationals, but it could have a very dramatic effect on places like l ‘URC and the Premiership and all those types of things, so it would be wrong for us to pretend that it’s not potentially a threat.

“It’s possible, but we don’t know enough yet.

“That’s not to say we shouldn’t still track all of this, because clearly if it happened it would have an impact.”

Behind the scenes, Mail Sport understands a target of September 2025 has now been set to activate millions of pounds worth of player contracts for the competition.

It’s a move that could completely shake up the sport, with promoters seeking some of the world’s biggest stars to compete.

Pre-contracts have already been offered to big players, which will involve complicated buyouts of their existing club contracts.

It is understood that three conditions must be met by next September for the pre-contracts to come into force.

The conditions are to have eight franchises sold as part of the fundraising process, an international TV deal and 200 registered players.

If successful, the first competition could take place in the summer of 2026. Organizers hope to secure funding from the United States and the Middle East, with hundreds of millions of pounds needed to recruit the sport’s stars.