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The Roar

Ankle-tapped Waterboy

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““RA maintains that the true financial state of (the Rebels) has not been disclosed to RA for some time – it was only once the company defaulted on its payment plan with the ATO last December that RA was made aware of the full state of the MRRU situation,” the [RA] statement said.

“I have evidence of the Company seeking payment arrangements from as early as May 2020 with the ATO, and October 2022 with MOPT” the Administrator said.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

“2.9.3. Reasons for Company’s difficulties
My investigations indicate that the Company’s financial difficulties arose largely as a result of the following:
 A history of trading losses, exacerbated since 2020 by the negative impact on revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the reduction in annual funding distributions by RA;
 Lack of readily available alternative funding sources;
 Excessive cost structure compared to the underlying revenue base, including employee costs and player wages; and
 Insufficient revenue being generated from non-RA sources, including membership, sponsorship and game day receipts to cover increasing costs, including statutory and lease liabilities.

Mr Owain Stone, a director of the Company, has provided the following reasons for the Company’s financial difficulties:
 That the Company was at all times effectively controlled by RA as a participating club in the SRPC;
 Shortfall of funding provided by RA; and
 Reliance on RA to fund the Company’s operations and part payment of wages and salaries of players that were jointly employed by RA.”

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

If transparency was a thing, then you are probably correct that this is the exact thing.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

TL;DR: “no-one wants to, but…”

So no superannuation, then.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

At last there’s rugby news in The Age! The Communications and Marketing Pigeon made it through!

web.archive.org/web/20240425061713/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/rugby-union/rescue-plan-to-save-melbourne-rebels-given-green-light-20240425-p5fmgr.html

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

Jack Mesley may have a synergy-based opinion on the Rebels consortium proposal to work closely with the A League based in the Tarneit facility in southwest Melbourne.

Rugby News: SRP poach first CEO from A-Leagues, Reds rookie reveals cruel prank ahead of debut, Hewat answers Dan call

Do you want to see the players get their super? I do. I’ve enjoyed watching the Rebels play and believe the players should be fairly remunerated.

If you don’t, then we differ.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

Excellent article and one heck of a story! (NZ Dictionary of National Biography is online and is a great resource)

George Nepia made his New Zealand debut 100 years ago, but was he really an All Black at just 16 years of age?

Now that’s interesting. Under the Deed of Company Arrangement, the Rebels players will get their superannuation. If Rugby Australia liquidates the Rebels, the players won’t get any superannuation.

RA’s values are discipline, integrity, passion, respect, and teamwork.

The Wallabies are RA’s poster child for Rugby. The Rebels have Wallabies in their ranks. How does it fit that RA is even considering actions where their key players don’t get paid their super?

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

Dionysus, that’s what the Administrator says too.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

Alas, it appears to be so. (Edit: the Kearns “from out of the mouth of babes and sucklings” comment)

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

>I am of the view that the likely return to creditors under the proposed Deed will provide a materially better outcome for creditors than a winding up

This is the guts of it. In this pickle – and sure it’s a big pickle – RA ought not be deaf to the commercial best result.

UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival

W. Drua losing to the W. Rebels will have rankled and been a wake-up call.

By the way, the headline photo appears to be of chaps, not women. Odd. What’s the reasoning behind that, please?

Super Rugby Women’s Grand Final teams: all roads lead to Ballymore, Emily Robinson reaches milestone

C’mon Jez you know that won’t change.

Wallabies in danger of losing Hanigan to ambitious French club just as forward enters his prime

This must be looked at through the lens of the RA Report into the Unprecedented High Incidence of Lower Limb Injuries Experienced in Season 2022.

Now that RA operate the Waratahs, the learnings from that Report already will have been shared and implemented.

Otherwise what’s the point of learnings and IP?

Wallabies in danger of losing Hanigan to ambitious French club just as forward enters his prime

Sterling stuff!

If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat

Ben I refer to Fay Weldon’s The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, in which the protagonist has her height reduced by 15cm by the simple expedient of having a surgeon saw her leg bones to remove sections of bone. Perhaps adding bone (or titanium) is just as straightforward, think of it as much like a hip replacement just a few decades early and geographically a bit south? (The TV series follows the novel, apparently the US film is not worth your time). Anyway, it’s worth considering especially if you are disheartened by your team members reluctance to lift you, or the thought of being 8’6″ tall appeals.

I look forward to the Wallabies team announcement with your name in it.

If Australia is looking for big men, let's not neglect the old and the fat

No, belay that. RA have proven to be duplicitous, hypocritical, patronising white ants! I’m not comfortable at all!

'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout

I am comfortable being patronised by Rugby Australia spokespeople.

'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout

Perhaps they’ve finally cracked a workable plan to get the ball into Mark N’s hands. In which case, selecting him is a good idea.

Brumbies to welcome back Wallabies duo for 'Canes clash after week of soul-searching, Tahs to tweak side for Chiefs

Theoretically possible. If so, it would say a lot about the talent pool. Also about the incumbents, that after losing a No Confidence vote they would go straight back in to being involved. Which would tell you something about their body parts, namely their thickness of skin and ability to listen.

'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next

Wallabies are below Fiji and Italy, and have a proud record against Portugal and Georgia. This after getting a river of dosh to drown in, to the point where the Women’s game and the Super Rugby franchises had their funding cut savagely to finance it.

Which is another way of saying, right now looks like exactly the historically right moment to make that shift in how RA does things..

'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next

If all parties involved aren’t aware that they are part of the problem then by all means let their obliviousness lead to Rugby’s oblivion in Australia.

The nexus is at the Nominations Committee and Constitution. Most other Tier 1 nations have got through this by now, it’s a rite of passage in the decades-long road to professionalism.

The good things about the other examples is that Australian Rugby can be sure that it’s feasible to make it through to the other side, that knowledge provides comfort and reduces the uncertainty. Also that there are some effective operating models already in operation to benchmark against.

'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next

Why would you bother? If the bottleneck is correctly identified (the Nominations Committee and Constitution; I think it is correctly identified) and the outcomes of the current arrangements are known (proven time and time again) why would you bother trying to be a change agent if the incumbents got in again, to predictable effect? Because if it all falls flat, the incumbents would all point the finger at the change advocates, “it wasn’t us, it was them”.

Standard operating practice is to get your opponents into the tent and then stifle or kneecap them. It’s a no-brainer.

'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next

Or indeed “our iceberg is melting”.

Whatever the metaphor, the current occupants trashed the place.

'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next

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