This year really has been a 12 months where the business of rugby became a major talking point in ovalball discourse. We have always seen the odd deal here or investment there but 2025 has seen a step change across the sport, and it remains to be seen how it will pan out.
So here are the five rugby business stories that could have an impact in 2026 and beyond.
Free-to-air international rugby
With news that ITV is set to broadcast the new Nations Championship, all of England’s international rugby matches will now be available on free-to-air channels through until 2029.
Combined with the joint ITV and BBC deal for the Six Nations, it ensures that the highest level of the game will be beamed for free into the living rooms of millions.
It may be one of the most important broadcast deals in recent years, with access to rugby now easier than ever while club rugby remains behind paywalls.
The Six Nations gets underway in February with the Nations Championship starting in July.
Red Bull gives Newcastle wiiings
The investment story of the year has got to be energy drinks giant Red Bull buying Newcastle Falcons and rebranding them as Newcastle Red Bulls.
In the months following the deal the club is yet to pick up a Prem Rugby win but victories in the league cup and EPCR Challenge Cup suggest that progress is being made.
The club have run out for every home Prem Rugby game in front of a capacity crowd, having not had a sell-out for over seven years. They achieved a club high attendance for a cup game and are on course for a record breaking first half of the year.
It’s great to see my former club deliver off the field and success on it cannot be too far away.
The Women’s World Cup boom
What a year it has been for the Red Roses, who delivered under pressure to win the Rugby World Cup in front of 82,000 fans at Allianz Stadium.
In the same way that the Lionesses victory in Wembley in 2022 catapulted women’s football to a new level of profile, let’s hope similar can come out of rugby’s triumph.
Some of the personalities in that Red Roses squad are so likeable, and I am sure we will be seeing more of them – Joe Marler style.
R360 rebel rugby put to sleep
The flop of the year must go to R360, which promised so much but delivered nothing but headlines.
It has been mothballed for two years as its founders look for ways around potential international player bans.
It is a shame because a fresh start and a new model could have solved a number of problems, but it looks as though we will have to wait and see.
Dupont Stateside
My one to watch of 2025 was Antoine Dupont’s decision to invest in Rugby Football Club Los Angeles.
It seems to have gone fairly quiet in the subsequent months after the team merged with San Diego Legion but it represents an example of a rugby player following the big names in NFL and football by investing outside of their own domestic scene.
“I can’t think of any other place that provides such opportunities for youth development, high performance, and commercial success to go hand-in-hand,” Dupont said. Let’s see how it turns out.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance and is rowing the Atlantic to raise money for MND charities. Donate and follow at World’s Toughest Row