Rugby Australia's chosen survivors
The Melbourne Rebels are a bump in the road on the shrink to greatness.
In November 2023, five months into his run as Rugby Australia CEO, Phil Waugh went to Melbourne to dish out some corporate poetry. Melbourne Rebels and Rugby Victoria faithful were assured they were not just some backwater in an AFL city but rather leading the connection between professional rugby and the community.
His theme since assuming the role had been "one team from club to country," and that night he laid it on thick at a Rebels function for sponsors focusing on the coming year. The game was as "united as it's ever been," he said. Partnership was not "a one- or two-year deal," and "we are all in this for the long haul."
His words, as events would soon show, rang hollow. The fallout is now the subject of Federal Court proceedings; the three-week trial kicked off in Melbourne on Monday.
