Major League Rugby is looking like a very real landing spot for off-contract Australian rugby players, including those from a Sevens program that looks set for significant cuts.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday reported that young Waratahs stars Jack Maddocks and Tom Robertson were in talks with new Major League Rugby club, the LA Giltinis, alongside Brumbies halfback Joe Powell. Meanwhile, ESPN understands that several players from Australia's wider sevens squad are also in talks with the new American outfit.
The rumoured player movement comes after the expansion of the American league to 13 teams, firstly through the LA Giltinis last week and then with Thursday's unveiling of the Dallas Jackals.
News that several Australian Sevens players could link with the Giltinis will comes as little surprise, after former Australian men's Sevens assistant coach Stephen Hoiles was named as a Giltinis assistant while veteran Shute Shield boss Darren Coleman is the club's head coach.
They are just the latest players to be linked with overseas moves amid Australian rugby's financial crisis, after Izack Rodda, Isaac Lucas and Harry Hockings were released from their Queensland Reds contracts last month, while up to eight Melbourne Rebels players have already signed with Japanese Top League sides.
According to The Australian, up to 16 players are poised to leave the club. Luke Jones (Racing-Metro), Jermaine Ainsley (Highlanders), Harry Potter (Leicester), and Matt Phillip (Pau) are all confirmed departures.
The talent drain is no doubt set to continue with RA yet to sign off a new broadcasting deal beyond this season, while on Monday RA began its organisational restructure with almost a third of its fulltime staff to depart over the coming months. All 30 casual staff were terminated with immediate effect.
The cuts will save RA $[Aus]5.5 million with further cuts flagged in coming months.
Interim CEO Rob Clarke on Tuesday stated the governing body's focus is to create a successful Wallabies program, suggesting that could come at the cost of the Australian sevens or Wallaroos programs.
"We're looking at the high performance area as a stand-alone operation at the moment and with [director of rugby] Scott Johnson and other management staff, we're looking at how we can deliver high performance across the country more efficiently," Clarke said. "It comes down to prioritising the most important functions of our business. We will have to look at programs and certain initiatives that we might want to have implemented that maybe we can't for now."
Just what remains of Australia's Sevens program when RA's cuts are finalised remains to be seen, but the program -- and the World Sevens Series itself -- looks set for a massive overhaul given the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Major League Rugby won't be able to offer the salaries to attract frontline Wallabies to the U.S., the improving competition has given Australia's middle tier of player -- who might not be able to command the same salary they had pre-pandemic -- another avenue to investigate.