Thursday’s Rugby News sees the Rebels finally have a logo, the Force eligible for the national team, the start of a new day in Western Sydney, and shots fired across the ditch.
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New Sponsor
The Melbourne Rebels started this year off the back of a whirlwind of controversy, with a new squad, a new coach… and no sponsor.
Well, now they finally have one.
Rugby Victoria announced yesterday that they have teamed up with Legacy Property and Investment Group on a two year deal, and with that comes “a program of community initiatives designed to promote inclusion and combat social inequity, violence and injustice.”
The back of the Rebels jersey will also contain a #NoToViolence emblem.
On top of it, the sponsorship also comes with a whole lot more incentives that are more rugby related, including providing support for Victorian Pacific Island players, a special partnership with La Trobe University and supporting existing rugby pathways in Victorian schools.
“This is a groundbreaking and historic partnership that reflects our unshakeable commitment to resource, support and engage the Pacific Island and broader community,” Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson said.
“It is a first for rugby that will influence and drive significant outcomes in the community, elite pathways and high performance.
“We are delighted to partner with Legacy Property and Investment Group to make Victoria a national and international leader in game and community development.
“It is very special that the company’s values and vision directly align with the Rebels’ own.”
“The Melbourne Rebels and – in particular, their players of Pacific Island heritage – are role models for young people in the Pacific Island community, many of whom look to these individuals for the courage and inspiration to reach their aspirations both on and off the field,” Legacy Property and Investment Group CEO Jimaima Le Grand said at the conference.
“We look forward to working with Melbourne Rebels, Rugby Victoria and the Academy to break down barriers for those of both Pacific Islands and non-Pacific Island backgrounds, and to inspire them to pursue their dreams of careers in sport.”
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From Blue to Gold
As May the 4th approaches, the news gets better for Western Force fans.
Rugby Australia has confirmed that players who will play in the WA outfit will be eligible for the Wallabies. You know… cause they are an Australian team?
Hodgo fronted the media yesterday to confirm the news.
“That was one criteria we wanted to tick off quite quickly,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“Because these Force players are playing in their local clubs, they’re playing for the Western Force and also playing for the Western Force in the NRC tournament so they are eligible and there are many players that can put their hands up for that selection during the June Test series and the end of year Spring Tours and hopefully, our goal is to get some players in that World Cup squad.”
Many of us all around the country are keen to see what the Force will look like this year, with seven invitational games and the NRC ahead of them.
Add to that the many rule changes and laws that will be in place for World Series Rugby.
However, beyond that 2019 still looks to be a bit of a blur.
The Indo-Pacific Rugby Championship is reportedly still making good progress, and Hodgo admitted that the team are more focus on what is in front of them.
“We’re focused solely on this year at the moment,” he said.
“Our big goal is to get as many people to watch the game on Friday night and we’ll continue to work with World rugby and Rugby Australia moving forward.
“Getting 2018 off the road is a big thing for us and to get players eligible for Wallabies is pretty exciting.”
The focus for these new rule changes are to speed up the game, and Hodgo believes that they will do exactly that.
“Today, you watch the game, people are almost in robot mode,” he said.
“They get stuck in their 22, set piece, one hit up pass it, the five-eighth or the fullback kicks it out and even defence now is set for that, knowing teams aren’t going to run.
“Now, we are manipulating both the attack and the defence so coaches are going to have to be switched on for the game and I think they’re going to have to adapt during the game, which is why they’re coaches.”
“They want to see these changes and I think also the rolling subs, the way they use that is going to be pretty exciting.”
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Knock it down and start again
The fallout of the Penrith Emus removal from the Shute Shield continues, with NSWRU and the Sydney Rugby Union announcing that a new Western Sydney Barbarians side will be formed, which will compete in the Sydney Premiership’s third grade Colts division.
The Emus meanwhile met up in a defiant display against their axing in the West last night, supported by fans and players of the club.
Things are still bitter in the west, however the new Barbarians side aims to try and build something new, with NSWRU CEO Andrew Hore saying the team would be a small step towards continuing supporting the region.
Folks have also talked about Western Sydney University getting a team, but nothing has officially been confirmed.
“At the time of making the hard decision to remove Penrith from the Sydney Premiership, the Sydney Rugby Union and NSWRU were both very committed to supporting players from the Western Sydney area to continue to be involved in rugby,” Hore said to rugby.com.au.
“This is just one way for us to allow players in the area to stay involved in our game, but it is by no means the only steps we will be taking to support and grow rugby in Western Sydney.
“We are working with all stakeholders, including SRU and Rugby Australia, to look at ways to develop rugby in Western Sydney.”
The new Barbarians outfit will play it’s first match against Eastern Suburbs this weekend. The team will wear the NSW Gen Blue jersey, and will be playing their home games at Lidcombe Park.
It’s been a tough couple of days for the SRU and the NSWRU, with the Phipps debacle and the added PR disaster that the Northern Beaches Council prohibited a planned Shute Shield match that was scheduled to kick off before the Waratahs-Blues match at Brookvale Oval.
Both the Rats and the Shoreman tried to move their respective games to Brookie this weekend, but the council refused. The Tahs have already lobbied SANZAAR to move the kick off time from 3pm to 7:45pm, so as not to clash with the other Shute Shield matches in the area that kick off at that time.
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Shots Fired
Ahead of their match this weekend against the Rebels, Crusaders coach Scott Robinson has ruffled some feathers, questioning whether the consistently poor results by Aussie rugby are to do with player depth.
The Crusaders are the current Super Rugby champions, and are sitting on a five match winning streak. Unsurprisingly, they are heavy favourites to win.
Meanwhile, the Rebels are on a four match losing streak.
When your typical Fox Sports journo looking for a controversial statement asked Scott if he questioned if the Rebels have depth, Robinson was straight to the point:
“Yes. There’s a headline for you mate.
“The depth of squad is always tested and that’s the most critical thing in Super Rugby.
“If you’ve got the ability to go three or four deep in a position and still find ways to win, you’re a chance.
“The next two to three weeks, there’s some games where we’ll see if there’s still a gulf or if it’s been bridged by the Australians.
“I know they’re hungry and we need Aussie rugby to be really strong.
“It’s about playing some good footy and off the back hopefully some rewards come,” he said.
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