It was announced earlier today that the Melbourne Rebels would sadly not being taking part in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
After the club was placed into voluntary administration in January, their application to rejoin the league next season was always going to be on shaky ground. Rugby Australia concluded that the consortium’s proposed alliance with Western Melbourne Group “did not demonstrate sufficient financial viability.”
The governing body explained: “The application relied upon projections for revenue growth and cost savings that RA believes are overly optimistic, raising significant doubts about the long-term sustainability of the proposed licensee. Further, the Consortium’s proposed alliance with Western Melbourne Group (WMG) regarding co-location at Tarneit, which is central to the proposed model, is early stage and is not yet agreed between the parties.”
The news has left many fans disappointed, with most having to now choose a different club to follow. One supporter commented: “Guess I’m going for the Brumbies now… Thanks for the memories Rebels. Guess that means Rugby is officially dead in Victoria. Funny thing is we had a pretty good pathway going, we had decent participation, just the…