The Weary Dunlop club put on a superb rugby lunch on Thursday at the Crown Palladium on Melbourne’s Southbank. The lunch was a delight of great rugby talk, gawking at the famous rugby names mingling with the enthusiastic audience, and the sheer joy of seeing rugby fever hit Melbourne.
The lunch was intended, essentially, to show case the Melbourne Rebels and their preparation for Super 15 rugby in 2011.
There was also some animated discussion about Saturday night’s much-anticipated Bledisloe Cup Test, with the ARU’s John O’Neill suggesting that the All Blacks were world rugby’s ‘gold standard’ and Robbie Deans promising that his Wallabies were up for the contest.
We had a perceptive speech from the chairman of the Rebels consortium, Harold Mitchell.
He pointed out that last year’s lunch drew 800 suits and that this year the room was filled to its capacity of 1400 suits paying $200 each.
“Even an AFL club,” he claimed, “would be proud to get this sort of response.”
He announced that the State Government was giving $1.5m towards a state of the art training facility for the Rebels.
The Carlton Football Club was part of the venture and that it was ‘the Melbourne way’ for all the codes to work together to achieve success for the city and the state.
There were a number of AFL notables at the lunch and bearing in mind that the Rebels CEO is the former AFL administrator Ross Oakley the thought came to me that Melbourne is and will be more supportive of the Rebels than, say, Sydney is to a new AFL club.
We had a stirring rendition of the Rebels club song. In Melbourne this AFL tradition is mandatory for all sports clubs.
So 9 tenors belted out ‘The Song of Angry Men’ from Les Miserables. At the end of the song silver streamers burst from the ceiling, engulfing the singers in a moment of colour and drama.
A terrific video encouraging supporters to join up as members was shown.
The club has created a Rebels Pledge based around five key concepts: Respect, Excellence, Balance, Ethos, Leadership.
The concepts are stitched into the team’s jerseys which was revealed to be a Victorian dark blue shirt, white sleeves and a red collar. This is a distinctive and attractive uniform.
Rod Macqueen came on and talked about the spirit he is trying to create at the new club. They will ‘be competitive from day one,’ he promised. He told how filling the club’s roster was a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some players he contacted told him they’d just made their Super 15 side and didn’t want to risk this security.
“Stay with your club,” Macqueen said he told these players. “We only want players who are prepared to take a risk.”
I chatted to Michael Lipman, the England player who was educated at St Joseph’s Hunters Hill. He told me he was really excited about next season and how he hoped that great performances by him might lead to a place in England’s RWC squad.
In my view, he is just the sort of dynamic loose forward that England needs, and the Rebels, of course.
And here’s an exclusive of sorts.
The Rebels first Super 15 match will be a Visy Stadium (“the best rugby stadium in the world,” according to Macqueen) on February 18 against the NSW Waratahs.
Then there was some discussion about the Bledisloe Cup Test from Greg Somerville (who got a big roar by predicting an All Blacks win), and Stirling Mortlock (‘The Wallabies can do it’) and Macqueen who insisted that win or lose the match will be a ‘litmus test’ for the Wallabies.
It will give them “a lot of information of just where they are” in the run-up to RWC 2011.
Greg Clarke, the MC for the lunch, offered the following intriguing information for Wallaby supporters.
The All Blacks have won seven successive Tests against the Wallabies, even though in five of these Tests the Wallabies were leading at half-time.
The last time the Wallabies beat an All Blacks’ 7-Test winning run was in 1998 at Melbourne, where Saturday night’s Test is being played.
As I was walking out into mild Melbourne afternoon, I heard someone call out my name. It was the referee for the Test, Craig Joubert.
We shook hands and chatted for a few minutes.
I asked him whether he thought the new tackled ball interpretations made his job easier or tougher. He said he liked them. They were clear and positive.
Teams that tackled around the legs could send their second digger in to contest possession and this was good for the game.
There had been some talk about the dire state of the surface of Etihad Stadium. “You’re not going to condemn the ground,” I teased him. He said he was just going out to inspect it and the game was going to be played.
He finished off by making this great point to me.
“For a South African referee, refereeing an Australian – New Zealand Test is a wonderful thrill, the highlight, it can’t get any better.”
So it’s game on between the Wallabies and the All Blacks as rugby fever takes hold in marvellous Melbourne.
Crouch, touch, pause, engage
Guest
Brett, With all due respect I was there and I have great eyesight and can count. Try 5000-7000 short.
Brett McKay
Guest
maybe that's where the story about SA admitting the Southern Kings came from then?? (The rumour, that is, not G&GR...)
Redb
Roar Guru
Repub, Both rugby and Australian football were encouraged to be adopted to keep men fit should war breakout. The young colony of Victoria was deeply paranoid about invasion, the armaments of southern Port Phillip Bay in the late 1800s were rated the most fortified in the entire southern hemisphere. Beleive it or not through fear of Russian invasion!
Brett McKay
Guest
C-T-P-E, I think you're being a touch harsh there, the crowd on Sat night was what, 1500 off being full??
Crouch, touch, pause, engage
Guest
Melbourne couldn't sell out a 50,000 seater stadium to a bledisloe, what a disgrace. For all the talk from Victorian rugby they have nothing to show for it. The place is owned by aerial ping pong leave them to it. As for the AFL it is so great it is played all over the back blocks of Australia. Vic, WA and SA are hardly mentioned overseas its all Sydney and Queensland and really these are the only states the game is played in. Big crowds really? How many people watch the AFL grand final worldwide? maybe 3 miliion? and how many watched the Bledisloe on Saturday night? about 30 million, now thats viewership.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Don't worry. I had a similar question about why the lunch had his name attached to it. I knew a little of his extraordinary efforts as a POW, but being an Australian Football person was completely unaware of his links to rugby.
Gazza
Roar Rookie
Says the same thing every time, gets it off his chest with monotonous regularity.
BigAl
Guest
Glad you got that off your chest Norm !! - . . . but I see nothing 'rational' about what you say here.
Norm
Guest
-"AFL...has attendances that are the envy of the rest of the world"...The rest of the world couldn't care less about AFL. -"In Sydney...there is a hatred of AFL that is so un-Australian that it defies any rational justification"...but the rational explanation is that the Melbourne game is not & never was the game of the Eastern states.
BigAl
Guest
Maybe the Rebels should change their strip to blue and white check and call themselves the Victoria Police.
Anthony
Guest
This shows the difference between Melbourne & Sydney. In Melb all sports are supported & treated fairly, despite the fact that AFL rules the roost & has attendances that are the envy of the rest of the world. In Sydney attendances are pathetic & there is a hatred of AFL that is so un-Australian that it defies any rational justification.
kovana
Guest
Thats great news. It will be easy for NZ and SA. Because they can use the teams from their respective currie cup and NPC to promote or relegate a team. Im looking at a Top 5 of each conference gets to take part in the super rugby competittion. Hopefully very soon they could include a Conference from Argentina And another Top team from the Pacific isles into this expanded competition. Heres hoping.
MarkH
Guest
Cant wait for the game tonight. For all the points raised. I hope the Europeans are watching so they can get an idea of whats ahead.
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
over on the G&GR forums theres been rumours that each conferance is now going to take it upon itself to expand, sell the rights to, name etc at its own pace whilst having the security of the super rugby series to hold it up which would be great news. i agree with the reds and wa giving up traditional colours
sheek
Guest
I must confess I'm a trifle confused the Victorian franchise is named 'Melbourne Rebels'. Aren't the Aussie franchises supposed to represent provinces? You also have the Brumbies who don't like to use the ACT tag as they try to appeal to a wider audience. Does it matter? Fans have followed the Brumbies for years because of the style & quality of their play. So coming from ACT is not a hindrance. So what does this mean? Will Melbourne eventually fall in line - giving us NSW Waratahs, Qld Reds, ACT Brumbies WA Force & Victoria Rebels? Or will it eventually go the other way - Sydney Waratahs, Brisbane Reds, Canberra Brumbies, Perth Force & Melbourne Rebels? At present our national domestic teams look like 'bitzers' - bitzer (a bit of) this, & bitzer (a bit of) that..... And as a traditionalist, I'm not at all comfortable that Queensland have abandoned their maroon strip simply to fall in line with the nickname 'Reds'. Or that WA play in what they call 'ocean blue' instead of their traditional yellow. I guess I'm showing my age, cranky old man et al.....
kovana
Guest
Has this match finally sold out? There were already 50K+ tickets sold 3 days ago Future.
sheek
Guest
Republican, you've read far too much into comments made. Weary Dunlop was a legend of a man & surgeon. He was a good rugby player. Dunlop's greatness has nothing to do with the future of the Rebels other than they're lucky to have such a famous patron to draw inspiration from. Actually, why am I explaining this? Rewind..........
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
there is room for many legends its just by the topic that we refer to weary dunlop. RUGBY is a code created to play sport, not prepare young english folks for war, you're being incredibly offensive and ignorant in that sense. Whilst it has porven to be a good tool in training young men in the army, its not for war but more for teamwork. Much like it is in china (official sport of the chinese military) it was adopted to its ability to embrace many people (not all) and forces teamwork upon people. every state has a flotilla of people who can be called legends because of their acts in the wars, not for going into them. the ANZAC legend is and never was a story of aussies and kiwis going to war and loving it. it was about our countries defining themselves as their own countries over england, australians and new zealanders showing pride in being from here rahter than from the distant mother country and sticking together in tough times when screwed by the brits. any suggestion that these are glorifications of war is idiotic. take some lessons in why it was done. i remember hearing of that book and whilst im not a big reader, it comes across as attention seeking. someone who actually doesnt understand the basis of why we celebrate our identity through anzac day. you cant pull things out like this just because you have a deep hatred of rugby. afl and league celebrate anzac day on a greater capacity than rugby ever has.
Harry
Guest
Those kiwis that are supporting the game here can only lead to great things. Kiwis now, but they end up having Aussie kids......I am one and now follow the wallabies with a F@&$&:! Passion. What do you think about that!
Republican
Guest
Sheek I know who Weary is and he is but one of many mate. Legend? You're sounding a bit like Fitzzy - making analogies with sport and war or am I assuming too much here? Does it therefore follow that Melbourne and Vic is destined to be a great Union bastion, Union being a code created to prepare young English lads for the slaughter of War. Is Weary's legacy integral to that states DNA? I really have an abhorrence of this sort of jingoism that seems to be to milked for all it's worth in defining our culture through sport and war using symbology of mythical proportions and a pathos that has become synonymous with the Australian and NZ identity - sadly. I know, this is not very P,C. of me to be challenging the sacred cow that is ANZAC but -"What's wrong with ANZAC, The Militarization of Australia' - get hold of a copy and read it and you might just understand where I am coming from one and all. Cheers