Who should play for the Rebels in the Super 15?

 
The Crowd Roar Guru

By Nick P, 10 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Guru

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Some of you may remember an article I wrote regarding who should play for the Melbourne Rebels. Perhaps I should have called them the “Victorian Rebels”, but that is a different discussion the administrators will have to sort out amongst themselves.

The article created some enjoyable debate. Some people said the theoretical squad I named would be hopeless; others suggested other names that would be interesting.

Since then rumours about signings have been aplenty. Some have been great to hear about, others haven’t. I’m sure people’s opinions on this differ greatly. However, no rugby fan can say that reading about it hasn’t been damn interesting.

Basically, this article details what playing personal I think the Rebels should be made up of. I would love to hear what the learned people of The Roar have to say on the subject and would be keen to discuss my choices, but I digress.

If I picked the Rebels squad it would look something like this:

Loosehead Props: Jack Kennedy, James Slipper, John Uglia (Victorian/Hooking cover).

Tighthead Props: Rodney Blake, Juan Pablo Orlandi (Argentina).

Hookers: Adam Frier, Ole Avei (Victorian).

Locks: Pat O’Connor, Dylan Sigg, Chris Thompson, Sitaleki Timani (Blind-side cover).

Open-Side Flankers: Julian Salvi, Pat McCutcheon.

Blind-Side Flankers: Rocky Elsom.

Number 8s: Tamati Horua (Victorian/Blind-side cover), Gareth Delve (Welsh).

Scrum-Halves: Richard Kingi , Agustin Figuerola (Argentina), James Stannard.

Fly-Halves: Daniel Halangahu, Mike Hercus (American).

Inside Centres: Lloyd Johansson (Victorian), Christian Lealiifano (Victorian/Fullback cover), Ben Tapuai (Victorian).

Outside Centres: Mark Gasnier, Stirling Mortlock, Rex Tapuai (Victorian).

Wings: Peter Betham, Matt King (Ex-Storm), Lepani Nabuliwaqa (Fijian).

Fullback: Danny Cipriani (English).

Most of these signings speak for themselves. No other Australian franchise is too plundered and there are as many Victorians that meet Super 14 standard as possible, not to mention the fact the franchise has many interesting internationals, but not too many (we need to develop Australian talent).

The only name that may take people by surprise is Matt King. Matt is a terrific league player who could not only be a bustling attacker and defender, but would also turn the cross-kick into a prime weapon in the Rebels’ arsenal. On top of this he would allow the Rebels to connect to the Storm’s fans without poaching any of their players. It’s a win-win.

In addition to the squad, I would hope there is a “Tier 1” academy-type structure. This is the manner the Western Force has chosen to structure their squad. Tier 1 players are full-time and fully professional but can’t expect as much game time as full squad members.

The main difference I would hope for is that all Tier 1 squad members would be Victorian players. This would ensure the side becomes as Victorian as possible in years to come.

Some names that come to mind for this squad are the 2009 Australian Schoolboys: Rodney Esekia (Flyhalf/Center), Angus Hamilton (Lock), Jack De Guingand (Open-side Flanker), Nathan Palia (Number 8); current Australian 7s player Talelei Grey (Number 8); or even the more dominant Victorian grade players like Tim Finau (Winger/Fullback).

There are a lot of options and this kind of academy set-up would be great for Victorian Rugby. Obviously there would be other levels set-up to allow other Victorians, that mightn’t quite be there yet, opportunities with the team.

Last but certainly not least, the 22. If I named a Rebels 22, based on the squad I listed, it would look a little like this:

1. Jack Kennedy
2. Adam Frier
3. Juan Pablo Orlandi
4. Pat O’Connor
5. Sitaleki Timani (Covering 6)
6. Rocky Elsom (Captain)
7. Julian Salvi
8. Gareth Delve
9. Richard Kingi
10. Daniel Halangahu
11. Peter Betham
12. Christian Lealiifano (Covering 15)
13. Mark Gasnier
14. Stirling Mortlock (Vice-Captain/Covering 13)
15. Danny Cipriani (Covering 10)

Reserves:

16. John Uglia
17. Rodney Blake
18. Chris Thompson
19. Timati Horua
20. Agustin Figuerola
21. Ben Tapuai
22. Matt King

So, what do you think? For me, as a Melbournian, this would be a dream come true.

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