Sully you can keep going, while I hate what the directors have done. I don't believe they hid it for 4 years.
Do you have another explanation?
Two things happened,
1. The directors ABSOLUTELY hid the state of the Rebels' finances, not just from Rugby Australia, but also from ASIC and the ATO. Their directors will almost certainly be seriously fined and banned from being on boards for a number of years. It's similar in scope and seriousness (albeit without people on respirators dying of mesothelioma) to what the directors of James Hardie did. (what I just did there is the corporate equivalent of Godwin's law...)
2. Hamish McLennan kept sprinkling his special kind of pixie dust bullshit over the Rebels (and the Brumbies, and the Tahs) that he had private equity *just*around the corner, and he'd have a nice cash payment wrapped in a bow for them. Now the Rebels Board was already trading while insolvent (DEFINITELY on them) by this stage, but they hung on for the McLemon Christmas present. Which, like most Ponzi schemes hyped by Mosman shysters, never eventuated. By which stage the Rebels were so deep in the shit they had no choice but to double down and put it all on 00 on the Crown roulette wheel...
So were RA at fault? Maybe? McLennan was (and compounded the problem). Everyone else was misled.
Were the Rebels directors at fault? You betcha, and hopefully the door will hit them in the arse as they shuffle off from the Last Chance Saloon.
I feel fro the Rebels players - but management? They kept spending money on Taniela, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) etc like the block who is betting on the last 50-1 shot at Flemington. They ABSOLUTELY knew....