Rugby Australia star players plan was no secret to the Rebels, court hears
Directors of failed Super Rugby club Melbourne Rebels knew Rugby Australia planned to reshape the competition by packing top players into just three teams, leaving the Victorian team out in the cold, a court has heard.
In a stirring opening statement for Rugby Australia, SC told the Federal Court of Australia that RA’s plan to place the tournament’s best players in the NSW, ACT and Queensland series to boost the Wallabies’ performance was well known to club executives.
The Winning Rugby plan also included merging the club with struggling New Zealand team Moana Pacifica.
Bannon said minutes from the Rebels’ December 2023 board meeting show executives were not only aware of the plan but also supported it.
“On 13 December 2023, the Rebels board passed a resolution requesting that Rugby Australia expedite the initiation of the Rebels restructuring process through Moana Pacifica (Melbourne Pacifica Rebels) to ensure Rugby Australia meets the requirements and reorganization plans of World Rugby and Rugby Australia,” Bannon said.
“So the evidence will show that not only were they informed about this, but they also embraced it warmly and wanted the process to be expedited.”
The court was also shown an advanced match list for the British and Irish Lions tour in 2025, which showed the tour would include a match between the Lions and “Rebels Pacifica”, and was told former Melbourne Rebels chairman Paul Docherty was aware of the fixture. Following the dissolution of the club, the game was deleted from the programme.
“There was no response from Mr. Docherty saying, ‘Where did this come from? This is crazy. We don’t know anything about this.'”
The winning Rugby document is a key part of the Rebels’ case; He claims the plan was kept from them and claims this is why the RA decided to bail out the Rebels and not the financially troubled NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies.
Rebels collapsed into administration in January 2024 under the weight of an $11.5 million tax bill and $23 million in debt, including $6 million to its executives. Rugby Australia revoked the club’s license in May of the same year.
The club brought the case last year, claiming RA had acted unfairly by revoking its license and failed to provide further funding for the club despite saving other clubs.
It is stated that the decision was due to Rugby Australia’s difficult financial situation at the time. (RA returns to profitability in 2025.)
The judge hearing the case on Tuesday, Justice Cameron Moore, urged both parties to resolve the dispute before their reputations are damaged and the costs skyrocket.
The case is expected to provide an insight into the inner workings of one of the most powerful sports organizations in the country.
Several witnesses, including Docherty and forensic accountant and Rebels manager Owain Stone, are expected to be interviewed about their memories of the events. Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh and former chief Andy Marinos will also be called to give evidence.
In his opening statement, Bannon argued that the case was actually about a tax debt accrued by managers due to the club’s failure to transfer tax payments deducted from staff and player salaries to the Tax Office.
“The Rebels director’s argument is that Rugby Australia should bail them out from their own financial mismanagement,” Bannon said.
“The obligation to return the sum thus withheld is a fundamental obligation of any employer, and an obligation well understood by at least distinguished business men.”
Bannon said the Rebels’ board of directors is made up of experienced businessmen who should know better.
“This should have been second nature to the leaders of the Rebels, to those who were qualified,” Bannon said.
He said the board includes many experienced business people, including lawyers and accountants.
“This is a clear and unambiguous obligation that every member of society has to comply with and if they are pursuing this case they would be alarmed if in the unlikely event they find that the Rebels have somehow assumed that they are in a different position because they are a football club, they represent rugby in Victoria and they have the support of the Victorian government,” he said.
Bannon also told the court that administrators shifted the blame for tax problems to Rugby Autsralia only after they first approached the state government for funding to clear their tax bills.
Bannon said the Rebels instead turned to RA and asked him to take over the club and assume all its responsibilities.
Rugby Australia has also responded to claims that the club’s financial collapse was caused by the RA’s decision to reduce funding to each club by $1.7 million a year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Two or three million dollars will not be enough to save the Rebels,” Bannon told the court.
“On the contrary, it would be a gross breach of duty on the part of the directors for Rugby Australia to do any of the things our knowledgeable friends suggest they should do.”
Sarah Danckert is a senior reporter specializing in investigations and corporate misconduct. He is a two-time Walkley Award winner and has won six Quill Awards and two Kennedy Awards.Connect with: X or email.
