I came across the words from Paul Keating after his unexpected win in the 1993 election, and, for the rugby community in Victoria, I think they are especially prudent today.
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Well, this is the sweetest victory of all. This is a victory for the true believers: the people who, in difficult times, have kept the faith.
“And to the Australian people, through hard times, it makes their act of faith all that much greater.” – Paul Keating.
I was looking for a way to sum up exactly what’s going through my head, only hours before one of the moments I have waited the majority of my life for finally happens, when the game that I love, and the state I call home, finally take each other seriously.
Rugby in this state has a long, proud, but oft overlooked, history.
It’s been a fixture in the state since the mid-1800’s, and has produced legends of the national game such as Ewen McKenzie, David Fitter, Rocky Elsom, Digby Ioane, and of course, the perpetual patron of the state union, Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop, a legend with or without a ball in his hand.
It has fostered a significant, varied, but close-knit community of participants and supporters, a community who, due to the circumstances that brought them together, feel they own a part of the game in this state, and have an obligation, a duty, to spread the good word, and preserve and grow the community.
It is a community that, for decades, has yearned for a shot at the big time, only to be knocked back for fear of lack of support. A community that has struggled to show people in power the extent to which it exists in this city.
I don’t wish to dwell on the 2004 decision any more than necessary, because it’s been covered end-to-end in the lead up to tonight, but I think people underestimate just how hard it rocked Victorian rugby.
Coming off record attendances at RWC games in 2003, there was a genuine hunger for a team in Melbourne. Attendances and participation were up in local leagues, and there was a lot of momentum behind the VRU as they made their case. The rugby community built itself up for their chance at history, their long-awaited moment in the sun.
And they lost.
People were genuinely shattered, as they watched everything the game could have been in Victoria slip from their hands. There was a lot of resentment, even hatred, towards the ARU and SANZAR, at their perceived cowardice in refusing to take on the AFL in their home state. Some people gave it up. The game, from its highest of highs, was at a lull.
It took a lot for the people behind rugby in this state to dust themselves off and rebuild. Soon after, projects to build and reinforce the framework behind the game were started. From the ground up, Victorian rugby was transformed, to ensure that, should there ever be another shot at the big time, the powers that be just couldn’t say no. A Centre of Excellence was created to foster the development of young players, premier competitions were expanded, and before too long, the community that was hurting years before had a product they could be proud of.
Although tonight will mark the beginning of hostilities between Victoria and NSW in rugby union, in reality, we should be thanking them, as if it weren’t for the NSWRU, tonight may never have happened. Rumour has it that, in 2007, the NSWRU gave one of their 4 allotted licences in the forthcoming Australian Rugby Championship to the VRU, against the wishes of the ARU. This team, of course, became the first incarnation of the Melbourne Rebels.
Like the Rebels of today, they were a ragtag bunch of interstate players who had taken a punt on Melbourne. Nobody expected Melbourne to provide more than just comic relief in this tournament, but, donning the navy and white hoops of Victorians past, they defied all predictions and made the final.
It was an amazing effort, but the league struggled to gain credibility nationwide, and it has been reported that the VRU and the Rebels, perhaps unfairly, was the target for a lot of the blame for the failure of the ARC, coming from the ARU, due to the higher start-up costs of the Melbourne franchise.
So, despite league-topping attendances and support at Olympic Park, Victorian rugby was forced to lay dormant again.
Then came 2009. The game in Victoria was still growing, and rumours of further expansion to the Super 14 were being floated. The community in Victoria, seemingly all at once, decided that they would not be defeated again. They mobilised.
The Rebel Army, originally just two guys running Facebook pages, became a soapbox for regular Victorians to stand and shout about just how much they wanted to be in the big time. The VRU dealt with a changing landscape during the bidding process, and a not-quite-receptive ARU, and stood firmly at every obstacle.
The Victorian Government, criticised in 2004 for taking a successful bid for granted until the last moment, pressured the ARU to make good on their promises to the state, and, just when things seemed to be falling apart for the Melbourne bid, Harold Mitchell rescued the momentum, and put his reputation, and his bank balance, on the line to make it work.
The rest, as they say, is history.
So, to Gary Gray and the VRU, to Harold Mitchell, Ross Oakley, Stirling Mortlock and the Melbourne Rebels RUFC, to Gavin Norman, Neville Howard, and the people behind the Rebel Army, and to the clubs, players, officials, supporters and community of rugby union in Victoria, the game here will forever be in your debt. Thank you.
I wrote earlier about how people in this community feel a special connection and obligation to this game, unlike anywhere else, I think. I’m proud to say I’m one of those people. Whatever happens tonight, and for the rest of the year, in the grand scheme of things won’t matter. I’ll put my Melbourne Rebels jersey away, look at it, smile, and wonder just how on earth we actually did it.
So as you watch AAMI Park today and look around, amongst the thousands of smiling faces, don’t be surprised to see a few misty eyes around as well. The ups, the downs, the finals, the premierships…they’re for another day. Tonight is for the true believers.
I’ll finish as Paul Keating did on that day in March, 1993:
“The people who never give up, who always keep on believing, who are always there no matter how heavy the travails may be. To you I say thank you very much indeed, thank you again. Thank you for believing.”
Go Rebels.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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