Rugby Australia’s alleged secret plan blindsided Rebels
The governing body of rugby union in Australia has been accused of abandoning one of its former clubs because it did not represent the heart of the rules.
The now-defunct Melbourne Rebels claimed in the Federal Court on Monday that Rugby Australia (RA) had drafted a secret plan to support teams in rugby’s traditional homes of NSW, Queensland and the ACT.
The club is seeking more than $30 million from the governing body in compensation and to cover its debts following its exclusion from Super Rugby in May 2024.
In his opening statement, the Rebels’ lawyer stated that the Rebels had become “redundant” to the RA’s needs after the plan, known as “Winning Rugby”, was adopted by the board in July 2023.
“(The RA) prioritized and favored the interests of clubs at the heart of rugby in Australia… and allowed the Rebels to go into voluntary administration,” Bernard Quinn KC said.
“(Winning rugby) was not announced to any club, no one at the Rebels knew what it was until this trial started.”
Mr Quinn said it was because the Rebels were caught so off guard by the governing body’s betrayal that genuine unity had formed to rebuild the game after struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The parties who now find themselves facing each other in court… were not at loggerheads, but were mostly cooperating to achieve their elite sporting goals,” he said.
“(Rebels managers) assumed RA shared their desire to see rugby success in Victoria but that turned out not to be the case.”
RA claimed that he had been misled about the club’s poor financial situation from as early as 2018 when the case was initiated.
In a statement, he said that if he had had full knowledge of the state of the balance sheets he would never have allowed the club to play in Super Rugby.
But Mr Quinn said the RA’s decision to provide extra funding to save the NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies, but not the Rebels, from bankruptcy showed a clear preference for the future of the domestic game.
“(The rioters) assumed they would agree… not to look past what was said and not to assume there was any other intention,” the lawyer said.
Opening statements will continue on Tuesday.
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