Melbourne Rebels 2011

[RugbyReg]

nup. They are just the Brumbies. Check their web site, see if you can find Canberra or ACT in their name.

 

[RugbyFuture]

I would suggest that the best way forward in this would be for the Queensland red and NSW waratahs to do a 5 year phase out of the nsw/waratahs and queensland/reds names and emerge as new brands with the selling off of the franchises wo we end up with a Brisbane Boars and Sydney Marines or whatever, however i don't know how it would happen.

That system would allow for rep rugby to re emerge in NSW and QLD.

the Brumbies arent Officially the ACT brumbies anymore, they dropped that moniker when they gained the south coast, riverina and southern inland feeder areas.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

Um, at the risk of being done hook, line and sinker; they are the Australian Capital Territory Brumbies. along with NSW Waratahs, Qld Reds, Western Force - all state/territory designation and not the city as with the Rebels.

Dropped ACT years ago. Just called Brumbies now.

 

[Jnor]

Well that humble pie was tasty. Mind you, they never were the Canberra Brumbies, which I thought was your point...

 

[en_force_er]

I could have sworn I heard them called the ACT and Southern NSW Brumbies at some point.

Having no location is your name is awfully franchisey.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

I could have sworn I heard them called the ACT and Southern NSW Brumbies at some point.

Having no location is your name is awfully franchisey.

Yes, but not for about 5 or 6 years. 2004 or 2005 season they changed it

Well that humble pie was tasty. Mind you, they never were the Canberra Brumbies, which I thought was your point...

No wasn't my point

 

[RugbyFuture]

any of you rebels supporters know the guy who's monitoring and regulating the wikipedia page is? they won't let me upload a lossless logo i've retrieved to the page and have replaced it with a logo which is basically 40 px wide

 

[Lee Grant]

I could have sworn I heard them called the ACT and Southern NSW Brumbies at some point.

Having no location is your name is awfully franchisey.

Not quite to your point but commentators often make boo-boos and refer to the ACT Brumbies, Auckland Blues and Canterbury Crusaders etc etc; so some people would think they were the right names.

 

[stoff]

And in hard hitting Rebels news just to hand, Melbourne Rebels prop Greg Somerville is now fully informed on my mother's hip replacement after he had the misfortune to run into her in the corridor of their apartment building. Her comment to me when she rang me up to tell me who her new neighbour was - "I think he needs an ear replacement".

 

[en_force_er]

Not to seem stalkerish but I happened to drive past JP du Plessis the other day, the little known Saffa recruit, and fuck me that bloke is built.

At 19 he would have to be one of the more impressively build rugger players I've ever seen. Let's hope he sticks around for another 3 or so years of residence.

 

[stoff]

A bit of insight into who is being looked at for where on the pitch from the Rebels website.

All positions up for grabs with a well rounded RaboDirect Rebels squad

By Rebels Media Unit

Imagine sitting at a table, with Rod Macqueen, Damien Hill and Mark Bakewell, musing as to a particular starting XV for any given match.

Pre-season matches against Tonga, Fiji and seven time champions the Crusaders will likely be typical in the fact that all members of the 32 man RaboDirect Rebels squad will receive opportunities.

Furthermore the rules governing the replacement’s bench both in numbers and substitution parameters are relaxed during ‘trial’ matches, meaning that the coaches will be able to tinker with selections and combinations during the matches.

Of course, the willingness to alter a team too dramatically will be tempered with the desire to form combinations and rehearse patterns – as well as ideally getting all important wins on the board leading into the first regular season match against the NSW Waratahs.

Who will earn starting berths and establish themselves will be fascinating, with battles for incumbency taking place between players who will also be pushing for the dual holy grail’s of rugby selection – to represent the Wallabies and play in the prestigious quadrennial tournament known as the Rugby World Cup.

The final regular season matches of the 2011 Super Rugby calendar will be 17 and 18 of June (with the Rabodirect Rebels hosting the Force), and the final on the 9 of July. The 2011 Rugby World Cup commences on 9 September, two months after the Super Rugby squads conclude the longest Southern Hemisphere domestic season since the game went professional.

There will be no certainties in the RaboDirect Rebels selections, something that veteran Stirling Mortlock acknowledged.

"The squad (that) has assembled is extremely strong," Mortlock said.

"Usually in the team you have eight to 10 guys, maybe even 12, who you'd say they're in those positions and there's a few up for grabs.

"That's certainly not the case in this team, everywhere you look from the front-row, back-row, centres, there are a lot of guys who are putting up their hand and it's a great environment to be part of."

Quoting the overused rugby cliché that it all begins up front, the RaboDirect Rebels will be able to call on the services of four outstanding props, three of whom have been test capped, representing a mammoth 251 games of Super Rugby experience.

The props available consists of one ex-All Black in Greg Somerville, two ex-Wallabies in Rodney Blake and Nic Henderson, and arguably Australia’s most noted up and comer Laurie Weeks.

Somerville has experience in playing in both sides of the scrum, although he was considered a front line tighthead inNew Zealand, while both Weeks and Blake are typical anchors at number three.Henderson played his three tests at loosehead.

At hooker veteran Adam Freier – with 99 Super Rugby caps and 25 test appearances – leads two talented rakes in former Wellington based Ged Robinson, and Queensland Academy number two Heath Tessmann.

This gives the Rabodirect Rebels seven players in the front row that give a balance of experience, raw power and size, mobility and rising talent.

In the second row, four locks will give the Melbourne based team plenty of options, especially considering that three of the tall timber are precisely 201cm (Hugh Pyle, Kevin O’Neill and Adam Byrnes), while Luke Jones is a measly 197cm!

They are led by two senior locks.O’Neill is a one test All Black, and former Crusader and Chief, while Byrnes has played for former Heineken Cup champions Leinster as well as the Waratahs and Reds.

One of the youngest RaboDirect Rebels, Jones holds the honour of being the first forward to sign a professional contract while still in school, while Pyle has cut his teeth with Warringah and the Brumbies academy.

Rounding out the lineout options is former Highlanders captain Hoani Macdonald, who can play at lock or at blindside. The experienced lock has represented both the Junior All Blacks and New Zealand Maori, and spent time overseas with the Newport Gwent Dragons.

In the flanks, Tom Chamberlin, Michael Lipman, Jarrod Saffy, Gareth Delve and Tim Davidson compile an impressive list of option for the RaboDirect Rebels back row.

Saffy comes into the team as an NRL premiership winner, and has also represented Australia at all major rugby levels in union with the exception of the Wallabies.

Davidson and Lipman are known to Assistant Coaches, Hill and Bakewell respectively. Davidson is a former SydneyUniversity captain, while Lipman played in Bath for six seasons, earning ten test caps for England.

Another international in Welshman, Delve adds experience, while Chamberlin is a product of the New Zealand ‘school of flankers’, having played for North Harbour and the Blues.

Scrumhalf promises to be one of the most closely contested positions in the team, with one of the most experienced number nines in Australia, Sam Cordingley partnering young guns in Wallabies tourist and Sevens representative Nick Phipps and former Queenslander Richard Kingi.

In keeping with the time honoured tradition of being the feistiest position on the rugby field, all three have said that they are pushing for a starting spot.

While respect for each other is high, veteran Cordingley has said he is not in the team just to act as a mentor for the young scrumhalves. Phipps and Kingi have said they are chomping at the bit to push for incumbency, with both having played second fiddle to the Wallabies first choice number nine Will Genia in the last year in the test side and Reds respectively.

In the vital flyhalf position, two differing conductors will present interesting options for running the RaboDirect Rebels backline.

Former London Wasp and England number ten Danny Cipriani will look forward to showcasing his wares in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, while former Kobe Steel, Western Force, Taranaki, Viadana and Eastwood star James Hilgendorf brings valuable utility value to the team – but he will likely feature as a first five.

In the centres, a mix of experience, versatility, speed and raw power will present a litany of options for the RaboDirect Rebels.

Stirling Mortlock, Cooper Vuna and Afusipa Taumoepeau present three deadlock class playing options, with all three tipping the scales at over 100kg.

Mortlock is an 80 test veteran and former Wallabies captain, Vuna brings league experience from the Newcastle Knights and NZ Warriors, while Taumoepeau has played at Sevens level and is like Mortlock, a former Brumby.

Lachlan Mitchell, a speedster who played for SydneyUniversity, will give explosiveness in the field.

While Mortlock is regarded as a specialist centre, he has played at 10 and 12 during his career, while the other three midfielders have had stints in the three quarters as well.

The back three for the RaboDirect Rebels are as diverse as they are potent, with a verifiable arsenal of options to select from.

Luke Rooney, JP Du Plessis, Julian Huxley, Mark Gerrard, Peter Betham will fight it out for positions – and like the bulk of the Victorian Super rugby team’s backs, provide versatility in being able to play most positions in line.

Huxley and Gerrard, both former Wallabies and Brumbies, bring the necessary experience to the team, being regarded as cool headed players that will bring polish to the RaboDirect Rebels game.

Du Plessis, a former South African age group representative, has experience in league, as does Rooney, who has won a Premiership and played internationally for the Kangaroos. The former Penrith Panther has been fast tracking his education for the fifteen a side version of the game, playing for Toulon and recently Hawke’s Bay.

Betham has been a product of the Australian system, playing with Wallaby Kurtley Beale in his schoolboy years, while playing for the Brumbies and SydneyUniversity. Many believe the 21-year-old to be a future test star.

From http://www.melbournerebels.com.au/ArticleDetails/tabid/270/ArticleID/864/Default.aspx

 

[Evan]

Somewhat ironic, given the direction this thread has taken, that if you didn't know much about Australia, you might wonder exactly where the city of RaboDirect is after reading that article .

It is all very Japanese Top League-like, isn't it?

 

[Lee Grant]

The journos are revving up as they will be in the other 14 Super locations. The Melbourne one was a bit different because it's a brand new team and the interest of Australian rugby tragics in the Rebels will be extreme.

It will reach fever pitch next month and every team will be likely Super winners - only the names of the players and a few adjectives will change from a basic model used every year..

 

[topo]

Can't find a spot for Al Campbell among the locks?

 

[Ash]

I don't know if I would put Al Campbell in front of any of those locks (including Hoani) myself. Luke Jones, maybe, but Jones has more talent than Al.

My concern would be that the Rebels outside backs are sorely lacking in the speed department. They will definitely be a muscle / bash team out wide. And with the likes of Huxley and Gerrard available, they could kick it to the bleachers as well.

 

[tranquility]

Not to seem stalkerish but I happened to drive past JP du Plessis the other day, the little known Saffa recruit, and fuck me that bloke is built.

At 19 he would have to be one of the more impressively build rugger players I've ever seen. Let's hope he sticks around for another 3 or so years of residence.

I am personally very excited about the prospects of JP. I was really hoping the Rebels would grab him as he sounds as if he was a generational schoolboy player in South Africa. It appears as if he has the desire and work ethic to go on with it too, he could be an absolute snag of a signing once he gets his sea legs back (running lines etc) after playing league for the last two seasons.

The squad looks bloody good to me, partly because there are so many untested but talented footballers and atheltes in the squad that it will be very interesting to watch it all unfold. The Rebs will be my second team for the first season atleast!

 

[Lee Grant]

Talk is cheap but let's hope that JP is going to be a good 'un as a few folks have mentioned.

 

[grievous]

Nice inclusion of the country clubs there. There is a small but stoic competition. Mate used to live in Swan Hill but had to play for Deniliquin who are from NSW but are inluded in Vic as its further to travel to other NSW clubs. Imagine a drive dowm to Warnambool!!
Looking forward to see what type of crowds the country trial games get

 

[stoff]

Somewhat ironic, given the direction this thread has taken, that if you didn't know much about Australia, you might wonder exactly where the city of RaboDirect is after reading that article .

It is all very Japanese Top League-like, isn't it?

I believe it is somewhere south of the state of HSBC and the territory of CA Technologies.

 

[en_force_er]

Imagine a drive dowm to Warnambool!!

Warnambool play in the Melbourne 2nd Division comp.

I've always thought that if the Boarder Army merged with the Albury-Wodonga Steamers in a similar vein to the Souths and Cerberus alliance then we could have another 1st Division club.

If Deniliquin does it then it shouldn't be an issue for the Albury club (even though they are a "Albury-Wodonga" club)