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Melbourne Rebels
The Rebels Rugby team, officially known as the Melbourne Rebels, are one of Australia's top rugby union sides. The team has competed in Super Rugby since 2011 and now also plays in the newly-established Super Rugby AU tournament.
Read on to discover even more about the Rebels Rugby team. On this page, you'll find a detailed history of the side as well as an overview of their upcoming fixtures and latest results.
The Rebels Rugby team was initially created as an expansion club for the Super Rugby competition. Victoria had pushed for a side since 2002, but were unsuccessful on several occasions. As a result, they formed a side called the Melbourne Rebels, who played in the now-defunct Australian Rugby Championship in 2007.
However, it took until 2011 for the team's bid for Super Rugby status to be accepted after a lot of internal politics at the governing body. Ever since, the club has struggled both on and off the pitch.
Initially, the club was banned from announcing signings and their CEO was forced to resign due to salary cap irregularities at his previous club. In the following years, the Rebels Rugby team was also bought and sold several times, including once as a last-gasp attempt to save the team and keep them in the Super Rugby tournament.
On the pitch, the Rebels Rugby team have experienced limited success in Super Rugby. In fact, since 2011, they have never finished in the playoff places and have finished bottom of the table on several occasions. Their only success of note came in the 2020 edition of the newly-formed Super Rugby AU tournament, when they finished third out of five teams. However, they were comprehensively beaten 25-13 by the Reds in the qualifying final.
Although the Rebels Rugby team have not been as successful as some of Australia's other Super Rugby sides, several stars of world rugby have featured for the team over the years, including Australian superstars like Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper and Will Genia.
Today, the Rebels Rugby team isn't as star studded as it once was. However, several international players do still appear for the side. They include fly-half Matt Toomua and centre Reece Hodge.