July 7, 2025
Stuart Hooper leave the ECB on the role of the rebellious rugby league

Stuart Hooper leave the ECB on the role of the rebellious rugby league

A main administrator will leave the Cricket Council of England and Wales after emerging that it is one of the R360 engines, the Rugby Union Rebel League.

Stuart Hooper, a former player and director of Rugby at Première Side Bath, will leave the ECB next week after having resigned in the middle of its role as co -founder and commercial director with R360.

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The initiates said that his role had become “untenable” and that ECB officials were not impressed by the arrangement when they learned earlier this year.

Telegraph Sport revealed last month that the old second row, which also played for Saracens, Leeds Carnegie and represented the Saxons of England, is one of the motor forces behind the new proposed league.

Stuart Hooper in Bath Training Top in 2022

Hooper was director of rugby at Bath from 2019 to 2022 – Getty Images / Bob Bradford

Hooper, 43, was director of cricket operations for the male team of England, a key logistical role that organizes the playing calendar and liaison with the advice of other nations. He had only been with the ECB for about 18 months, having been hired to replace another rugby man, the former lunch of Ireland David Humphreys, who himself had a short stay at the ECB before leaving to play a role with the Irish Rugby Football Union.

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Earlier this month, Telegraph Sport reported more information on the R360, a break -up league promising to pay seven -digit wages of rugby players by establishing new franchise teams and playing the game during a “Grand Prix style” tour around the world.

Hooper was appointed as one of the key players in the competition, despite having worked for the ECB in the past 18 months. He also implies the winner of the World Cup and member of the royal family Mike Tindall, the former player of the players Mark Spoors, and John Loffhagen, a lawyer who was involved in Liv golf and the Indian Cricket League.

By removing players from the traditional club model, R360 represents a direct threat to the rugby establishment, with the pre that of rugby rugby TNT Sports recently describing plans as “delusional”.

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Hooper has resigned and purged his notice period, which ends next week. It will be replaced internally by Rob Hillman, with the ECB staff informed of the change on Friday.

The ECB moved quickly to replace Hooper, but always has another key role to fulfill. Tony Singh, the commercial director, will go to Netflix later this summer. His replacement should be strongly involved in the conclusion of the next major broadcasting agreement. The current agreement with Sky, worth 220 million pounds sterling per year, is exhausted at the end of summer 2028, and is a key board of the BCE financial model.

Hooper and the ECB refused to comment.

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