RugbyFuture
Lord Logo
Where are big names the Rebels promised
* Mark Ella
* From: The Australian
* March 20, 2010 12:00AM
BEFORE I start, I have to declare I was part of the VicSuper15 group that decided not to accept the ARU's invitation to form the next Super 15 Australian franchise.
Therefore, the last thing I want to do is appear to be sucking sour grapes. The Melbourne Rebels threatened legal action against the ARU with the overwhelming support of the Rugby Union Players Association to have the deadline on signing and announcing Australian-based players brought forward from June 1 to March 15.
The Rebels argued they needed to be able to announce big-name signings to attract players from Australia and around the world as well as attracting additional private equity.
Well, five days after the March 15 deadline expired the Rebels have announced only two Australian-based players, Queensland Reds tighthead prop Laurie Weeks and second-rower Adam Byrnes.
To say that it was an anti-climax would be an understatement especially continually reading reports that the Rebels were and still are targeting a wide selection of Australian Super 14 players.
Many of these players are at best fringe Super 14 players with a distinct lack of stars or those players nearing their use-by date, which is hardly inspiring considering the huge challenges in front of the Rebels.
They have not only missed out on marquee Australian signings such as Berrick Barnes, David Pocock and most likely Benn Robinson but also on a lot of lesser lights such as Daniel Halangahu, Tom Carter and Kane Douglas.
It seems the Rebels have placed too much faith in 1999 World Cup-winning coach Rod Macqueen's pulling power and assistant coach Damien Hill's ability to attract the quality players he coached at Sydney University.
If the Rebels are not offering players significantly more money, what motivation do they have to pack their bags and move to Victoria - apart from joining the coffee club?
Players will change teams for an opportunity to start and to become better so they can increase their chance to play for the Wallabies, otherwise why bother when the Rebels are not in a position to guarantee either.
What makes it harder for players at present is the pressure to remain loyal to their teams and not look like mercenaries chasing the almighty dollar. The Rebels needed to immediately sign one or more Wallabies superstars who could have given the franchise credibility in the way Western Force used Nathan Sharpe's defection from the Reds and Matt Giteau from the Brumbies.
Even if it had cost them more than they were willing to pay, the Rebels should have gone all out for Melbourne-born Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom, who would have given other players the confidence to make the move.
Right now the Rebels must be panicking over the quality of their player roster, although there is still a chance Stirling Mortlock, Mark Gerrard and Matt To'omua may head south.
One of the reasons VicSuper15 dropped out of the race was because the ARU would not give the consortium the $4.3m grant that hand to the existing Super 14 teams. We were bemused to say the least when the ARU then decided to give the owners of the Melbourne franchise a $3m grant and a $1.3m loan!
We were a long way down the track to securing successful Leinster coach Michael Cheika who has an immediate connection with the modern-day players such as Elsom. Cheika, who guided Leinster to the European Cup title, is like a young Rod Macqueen.
Elsom played a leading role for Cheika at Leinster and he would have had a good chance of talking him into playing for Melbourne, which would have been a coup.
The Rebels have said they don't want to fill their 10 foreign player spots because they simply can't afford too many of them, but there is simply not enough Australian talent to go around.
I don't think there should be a cap on the number of overseas players the Rebels can sign. It should depend on how many Antipodeans they can recruit from home and abroad.
If they don't need 10, fair enough, but if they need 15 let them have them just as long at the Rebels thrive and grow in an AFL-dominated sports market.
Australia and SANZAR need a competitive Melbourne team and I am confident Macqueen will eventually pull it all together, although he doesn't have the luxury of time that he had in Canberra with a bunch of talented misfits in 1996. He has had too much success not to do well.
It was never going to be easy, but it did not need to be this hard. It is time for the Rebelsto get on with the job and keep out of the media spotlight.
All their talk and innuendo is amounting to nothing. When they have something significant to say, I will welcome their belated news but right now let's concentrate on this season's Super rugby and not get distracted by what may or may not happen in 2011.
the last thing he wants to appear as is sucking sour grapes! yeh right!
