The Melbourne Rebels have been dumped from Super Rugby due to financial difficulties just as they’ve reached their first playoffs in their 14 seasons.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders need the Rebels to defeat the Drua in Fiji to sneak into the quarters after they dispatched Moana Pasifika 43-10 on Friday night in Christchurch. Should the Rebels beat the Drua, the Crusaders would then need the Brumbies to beat the Western Force.
The Rebels have been in voluntary administration since January with debts owed to creditors exceeding 23 million Australian dollars ($15.2 million), half of that amount owed to the Australian Taxation Office.
A private consortium put forward a plan to fund the club from 2025-30, which was supported by the administrator, but Rugby Australia voted against the deal. RA decided not to give Melbourne a license to play in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific.
Staff and players were called to Rebels headquarters on Thursday as they were preparing to fly to Fiji for their last regular-season match against the Drua on Saturday.
“Deadly silent, just absolute devastation. No one said a word,” Rebels coach Kevin Foote said of the players’ reaction. RA chief executive Phil Waugh and chairman Daniel Herbert flew to Melbourne to speak with the team.
It comes as the Rebels are seventh in the standings and guaranteed their first berth in the eight-team playoffs.
“We said we’ve really got the opportunity to finish strong and the group and playing staff are really motivated to do that,” Foote said. “We’re going to hold our heads high and have a crack.”
Waugh said credit should go to the players, who have continued to perform despite the uncertainty facing the club.
Rugby Australia cut staff and took over player and coaching payments for the 2024 season, with the Rebels handing over their competition license.
Most of the leading Rebels players were recruited from the rugby strongholds of Queensland and New South Wales states and the national capital, Canberra. Seven Rebels were at the 2023 Rugby World Cup including captain Rob Leota, front-rowers Taniela Tupou and Jordan Uelese, and backs Andrew Kellaway and Carter Gordon.
The fate of the Rebels women’s team in Super Rugby W wasn’t included.
“The focus right now is on supporting the impacted staff and players at the Rebels,” Waugh said. “We have a plan that will ensure rugby has a strong future in Victoria (state) — the infrastructure and the systems remain unchanged despite the change to the professional game in 2025, and we will continue to look for opportunities to increase that investment in the game in Victoria.”
The rugby union franchise struggled for traction in a Melbourne winter sports market that is dominated by the Australian rules Australian Football League and which already had a powerful established club in the National Rugby League.
In an earlier statement, Rugby Australia said the consortium’s projections for revenue growth and cost savings were “overly optimistic” and requiring additional funding from head office.
“Given the lack of detail made available to RA, the lack of transparency and the significant doubts over the consortium’s proposed financial model, RA has determined that there is an unacceptable level of risk associated with entering into a participation agreement with this consortium for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season,” Rugby Australia said.
“RA does not take this decision lightly, however, it must act in the best interests of the game and its stakeholders, and to provide certainty for the Rebels’ players and staff, and all Super Rugby clubs in planning for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.”
The Rebels were due to play the touring British and Irish Lions in July next year between the first and second tests. RA said it was talking to the Lions about a new opponent.
