There are fears for the future of Super Rugby’s Melbourne Rebels after up to $9 million in debt was revealed after a Rugby Australia inspection of the club’s books.
News Corp reported RA cannot bail out the team but will make every move it can to save the team from folding, with the organisation desperate to remain at five teams.
But the report stated a forced merger with the ACT Brumbies, who also have financial questions, was at least a possibility.
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“Rugby in Victoria is very important to Rugby Australia and it is our intent to continue to have a footprint there in both provincial and Test rugby,” an RA spokesman said.
“We are working together to overcome the challenges that the Rebels are currently navigating.”
Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson declared the club will survive.
“I’m absolutely not concerned about the Melbourne Rebels’ ongoing tenure, we’ve got big things coming in 2025 (British & Irish Lions tour) and 2027 (home World Cup), we’ve got a lot to be proud of but also to improve on,” Stephenson said.
“But we will be fine.
“We’ve been operating with reduced funding due to Covid since November 2020, it’s been challenging no doubt for all Super Rugby clubs. I am confident in the leadership and the board that I’ve got.
“We’re not sitting back and throwing our hands up saying ‘Poor us’. We only just announced a five-year partnership with La Trobe University (on Monday).”
One of the Rebels’ major sponsors, BRC Capital, is in the midst of solvency issues while the club must pay a significant tax bill in three weeks’ time.
No Rebels staff or players are contracted beyond 2025.
RA’s reliance on funding from the Victorian government, and the huge crowd at the Bledisloe Cup Test at the MCG last year, make the southern state vital for the code’s future.
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