The future of the Melbourne Rebels is in serious doubt, with the Super Rugby franchise battling to stay financially afloat.
The Roar understands the Australian Super Rugby franchise has up to $9 million of debt – and there are great fears the sum of money is being considered irretrievable.
It’s believed the RA board was shown the Rebels’ finances last month at their November board meeting and were alarmed at the dire situation they saw.
It wasn’t long before whispers began that Australian rugby could return to four Super Rugby franchises by the time the next broadcast deal takes effect in 2026 – or even earlier.
Soon after, Hamish McLennan, who was one of the biggest advocates for Australia having five Super Rugby franchises for broadcast reasons and World Rugby promises regarding their legacy program and growing the game by hosting the 2027 and 2029 World Cups, was ousted.
In recent weeks RA’s new leadership has sought to play down the Rebels’ precarious position, but chief-executive Phil Waugh did leave their commitment up for interpretation by saying the governing body would look to do everything they could to help the national side’s on-field performances.
Taniela Tupou is the Rebels’ star signing. Photo: Melbourne Rebels
“We’ve got five teams and we’re committed to five teams,” Waugh said on Big Sports Breakfast radio recently.
“I think then it’s about how creative we get in filling those teams to ensure we’ve got five competitive teams.
“Everything is on the table in terms of the growth of the Wallabies performances and what will feed through to us being number one or two in the world.”
Yet, it’s believed some at RA subscribe to the theory of “quality over quantity”.
It has left the Rebels in a precarious position, particularly given their current financial troubles, with the franchise needing to pay off large tax bills by early January and, as the Australian Financial Review revealed on Monday, one of their main sponsors, BRC Capital, facing solvency issues.
Despite the tough times, Rebels chief executive Baden Stephenson told News Corp he was confident of riding the storm.
“I’m absolutely not concerned about the Melbourne Rebels’ ongoing tenure. We’ve got big things coming in 2025 and 2027, we’ve got a lot to be proud of but also to improve on,” he said.
“But we will be fine.
“We’ve been operating with reduced finances 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].”
An RA spokesperson told News Corp “it is our intent to continue to have a footprint there in both provincial and Test Rugby” in Victoria.
They added: “We’re working together to overcome the challenges that the Rebels are currently navigating.”
RA’s comments are hardly surprising given the Victorian Government is set to win the rights to host the World Cup final in 2027 after throwing millions at hosting the once-in-a-generation event.
The 84,000 fans that packed the MCG to see the Wallabies walloped by the All Blacks earlier this year only reaffirmed Melbourne’s ability to turn on an event.
But Test rugby is one thing, Super Rugby is another.
And it’s believed following the embarrassment of withdrawing from hosting the Commonwealth Games, the Victorian Government could be questioning their commitment to the Rebels.
Much could rest on the Rebels’ season in 2024 shaping any future decisions for the franchise, with general manager Nick Stiles building one of their strongest lists since their inception in 2011 on the back of luring Taniela Tupou and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto to Melbourne.
As well as signing several other internationals, the Rebels also have an impressive backroom building, too.
But curiously, the Rebels don’t have any players nor staff contracted beyond 2025.
Melbourne sources downplayed that in recent weeks, saying there were few players signed beyond 2025 in any Australian Super Rugby franchise beyond props Angus Bell and Allan Alaalatoa.
While in the past RA would have come to the rescue and helped pay off debt, that’s no longer the case.
After failing to secure a $200 million private equity deal to help shore up the five Australian Super Rugby sides, RA recently was forced to take up another $80m loan deal to help keep them afloat before the British and Irish Lions tour Australia in 2025.
Despite that, RA has told the Super Rugby franchises they won’t reinstate the $1.7m payments they pulled following the onset of the Covid pandemic because, if they did, they would run the game into the ground.
Despite that, The Roar understands RA is $15m short of where they need to be to service the game properly, particularly with the women’s game, especially the XVs program, becoming more of a priority ahead of the 2029 World Cup.
Kevin Foote, Coach of the Rebels meets a young player during the round two Super Rugby Pacific match between Melbourne Rebels and Hurricanes at AAMI Park, on March 03, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
It has RA looking at every avenue on how to prosper heading into the future.
Only a significant uplift from their next broadcast deal in 2026, – they currently get $29m from Nine Entertainment and Stan – will see RA meet their financial requirements. Whether or not the Rebels can reach that point remains to be seen.
The Rebels’ financial troubles come as both RA and the New Zealand Rugby look to sit down with their respective broadcasters in the first half of next year to firm up the future of Super Rugby from 2026 to 2030 and ask for more money.
Although there is a long-term commitment to Super Rugby Pacific, the start of the new broadcast deal naturally shapes as the opportune time for any changes to the competition.
It comes as RA and their SANZAAR allies continue to talk about the future of Argentina after the Jaguares exited Super Rugby once Covid brought Super Rugby, as it was previously known, to an end.
Keggy
Roar Rookie
"Their marketing effort in recent years has been ordinary." Too right. :thumbup:
Keggy
Roar Rookie
No that was QLD Reds Members only in 2012, after winning in 2011 we were well over 50k members in 2012. That includes kids memberships, 3 game memberships and people who couldn`t make it to games memberships as they lived out of state or in the bush.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
33k
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
Because the heat is increasing, Piru. Playing professional footy in late February in Australia is bordering on the medically negligent as it is. Playing on frosty ground in Dunedin may have its risks as well but rugby is a winter game. In Brisbane, the humidity simply cannot be ignored (like today; ambulances are being kept busy) and I, for one, have lived for years in the Townsville area which made Brisbane's summer humidity seem temperate. The closer to the equator you are, the hotter it gets. I've spent time in Perth; it always struck me as being temperate. All of this was in the past or is happening now. I shudder to think about the future, even 5 years from now.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Not sure Sean was tenuous or WR would not have approved it. Scotland and Argentina lose more players to soccer because of the difference in money. Yes they might not make it as far in the junior program they do in Oz but plenty people are lost. RAs problem is they offer nothing to kids between Schools and Super Rugby. If you are a 17 year old and RA is looking to recruit you what can they offer you. They aren't going to give you a professional contract at 18 unless you are the best players of your generation and even then its pennies compared to what the NRL will give you. Need only look at Meafou to show that RA aren't even looking after the players they do have that a sitting in the SS etc but have no pathway to help them become professionals. Few NRL players will be out earning Meafou, same can't be said for all the Scottish and Argentine players who at 12 focused on soccer instead of rugby.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
But OS clubs are the least of RA's worries. Losing a player to the NRL, or even the AFL at probably a more junior level (think lock forwards), is more problematic. For what little I know, the ARU doesn't have that much to worry about with competition from the SL or even soccer; just the OS clubs. And the SRU has a full-time officer dedicated to recruiting players from overseas with even a tenuous Scottish link (think Sean Maitland).
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Not sure why competition matters. They had a certain amount they could spend on players. If a key player was offered more by an OS club they didn't try match it. RA are killing themselves trying to match wages with OS clubs spending money they don't have. Once the SRU got money they increased wages but not until they had reduced the debt that was crippling them.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
The Scottish model doesn't have to factor in competition from two other footy codes; three if you include soccer.
Micko
Roar Rookie
"Mercenaries"??? It's a professional sporting league, no?? How many other professional leagues in Australia and the rest of the world employ such an archaic structure as mandating/solely focusing on "player development" rather than the health and the success of the league itself apart from SR/SRP??!!
Micko
Roar Rookie
Disingenuous: you're talking about sports that adopted professionalism early on. Rugby union literally became a niche sport because it rejected a logical adoption of professionalism and remained a quirky upper class amateur private school sport.
piru
Roar Rookie
Well piru, I do know that is happening over your way, as I’ve whanau, that is doing exactly that,over there & as we used to do, many many moons ago, voluntary. Yep and that's how you engage with your community. Cronny had them all doing full-time jobs as well as their Rugby commitments for a while, to remind them how lucky they are.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Anzac Day game seemed to have plenty of Easts fans present. What's the biggest crowd the Rebels ever had???
Micko
Roar Rookie
Brisbane & Fitzroy???
andrewM
Roar Rookie
it didn't work in 2018 for the Rebels so what makes you think it would work any better now?
Phil McKraken
Roar Rookie
No surprise when looking at the success of the Wallabies in the glory years it revolved around two states and the combinations of key players playing alongside each other or against each other on a consistent basis. 5 Super Rugby teams can not be sustained for the simple reason we don’t have the players or the spectators, public interest to make all 5 viable. Super Rugby is dead but unfortunately too many Administrators are in denial.
ScottD
Roar Guru
Taking all the Force players didn't make Rebels competitive
ScottD
Roar Guru
Yes, I do agree that at some point there always needs to be a cold hard assessment of progress. I am just being clear eyed that to get something out you need to put something in, and RA needs to be the one putting in. They put nothing into the Force when it started and very little into the Rebels. Although the Rebels did get a few years with massive overseas player concessions that the Force didn’t get. RA has bailed Rebels out financially twice and this would be the third time. I think they should bail them out this time if they are able to. But that can come with conditions. I am serious about it taking 20 years to establish and take root, but we should have seen more from the Rebels by now and I am really disappointed at the clear lack of corporate support in Melbourne. I believe that the failure to obtain corporate support in that market lies fairly and squarely with poor Rebels management . Above all though, RA needs to carefully consider what it means before abandoning the Rebels. They should only do so at the last resort if the short term costs outweigh the possibility of long term benefits. I don’t think we are at that point yet but I want see better management.
ScrumStability
Roar Rookie
Hi Scott – TBH I don’t see how RA in their present condition can be expected to bend over backwards to save the club if that is what is necessary (more bail outs/subsidising). As you have touched on Victoria is not a rugby heartland (quite the opposite) and since their inception I have seen little indication that the money spent there is giving us much in the way of return on investment. The Rebels have not made a proper Super Rubgy final and are prenennial underperformers. I think the funds earmarked to prop them up (excuse the pun) could be better spent on building another tier below SR and/or strengthen the other 4 sides. The Force is lucky enough to have a rich patron, so if I was running RA I would say to the Rebels, secure a similar patron and pay your own way and you can stay, as long as their existance is not diverting much needs dollers away from where it is needed.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
But it goes back to what I was saying the Rebels management need to be pushing that if the rebels don’t exist, the viability of that diminishes.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
Understand that. What I am saying is vic gov is negotiating with RA for Bledisloe etc. It doesn't need to offer anything to the Rebels unless RA make that pat of the deal.