NRL declares war with fund to chase Argentinian and South African union players

Australian Rugby League Chairman Peter V’landys is weighing up handing NRL clubs salary cap relief of up to $1 million each to encourage them to go on rugby union spending spree.

V’landys, who has been engaged in a war of words with Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan, has come up with the counter-offensive tactic to fight off raids by union on NRL stars.

McLennan recently revealed rugby’s interest in Broncos and Origin star Payne Haas, while also setting sights on Penrith Panthers playmaker and NRL’s hottest property Nathan Cleary.

In a report published by the Sydney Morning Herald, the NRL is plotting its revenge with a fund targeted at players from non-rugby league countries like Argentina and South Africa to hit back.

NRL clubs will be given salary cap relief for deals struck with those players, which will include American collegiate football prospects who fail to make it into the NFL.

Rugby Australia boss McLennan was taken aback by the news of the interest in foreign rugby union players but encouraged them to ‘go for it’ and said he would personally hand over the phone numbers for former Los Pumas playmaker Gus Pichot and SARU president Mark Alexander.

“I thought the scary league guys didn’t care about rugby union,” McLennan told SMH.

“Like we’ve always said, it’s a free market, but this shows how worried they are by the resurgence in rugby. It’s quite outstanding, really.”

“I hope they go there. I think they’ll have fantastic success. I’ll give them all the names and numbers of who to call.

“I reckon they’ve got Buckley’s in those markets. They’ll be total snobs with league and would look down on it. But go for it.

“They should call the famous (Pumas No.10) Gus Pichot in Argentina and (SA Rugby president) Mark Alexander in South Africa and let them go for it.”