The Victorian government is "attempting a pincer movement to head off the closure" of Super Rugby side Melbourne Rebels, warning the Australian Rugby Union "not to use" any of the A$14M ($10.4M) it gives to rugby union to purchase the Rebels, according to Wayne Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. At the same time, the government said that any "further assistance to the Rebels is conditional" on Owner Andrew Cox announcing his "ongoing commitment" to the club. In one of the "most tumultuous days in Australian rugby history," former Wallabies player Rocky Elsom "emerged as the head" of a “white knight” consortium poised to "buy the Rebels and keep it as a going concern." Rebels assistant coach Morgan Turinui said, "We’re so focused on mental health issues challenging young people today, young sportsmen today, and on the one hand you have the ARU putting them in a situation that is putting them under extreme stress. It’s not acceptable. It’s disgraceful. It’s as simple as that." The "persistent rumors" are that the "present asking price for the team" is about A$9M ($6.7M). If that figure, or "anything near it," is true, then it is "surely a sign of staggering desperation" by the ARU to cut its present five teams to four, which was the commitment they gave to SANZAAR in London in March and repeated last Friday to SANZAAR execs in Tokyo. Australian rugby "scarcely has money to throw around," particularly not to a man who purchased the Rebels for A$1 and already received the bulk of A$6M ($4.5M) of ARU "front-end loaded funding" spread over five years. If the sale goes ahead at the rumored price, it "may turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory" for the ARU. In its "anxiety to shed a team" to meet its assurances to SANZAAR, it could "trigger moves" to call an emergency general meeting of the ARU (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/16).
SA INFLUENCE: Smith also reported media in South Africa is "agitating" the two teams to be "forcibly culled" as part of SANZAAR’s plans to reduce Super Rugby from 18 teams to 15 should come from the "poorly performing" Australian conference. Under the SANZAAR plan agreed at a meeting in London in March and reinforced at Friday’s meeting in Tokyo, South Africa is "required to cut two of its six teams," while Australia will cut one of five. South Africa was responsible for "triggering the regrettable expansion" of Super Rugby in '16 to 18 teams (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/15).
