SYDNEY (Reuters) – The crisis-hit Melbourne Rebels have laid off chief executive Baden Stephenson and four other administrative staff little more than a week before the start of the Super Rugby Pacific season, Rugby Australia (RA) confirmed on Thursday.
The governing body assumed control of the Rebels when the club went into administration with millions of dollars of debts at the end of last month and have given assurances that the team will see out the season.
RA said they had made all staff excluding the players redundant on Wednesday but re-hired 80% of permanent employees, including all 17 high-performance staff, mostly on temporary contracts until the end of the season.
“This provides a sufficient staffing model, complemented by support from existing RA staff, to effectively deliver the 2024 season while work is completed on the longer-term model for rugby in Victoria,” RA said in a statement.
“RA can confirm that the role of Rebels CEO, currently held by Baden Stephenson, has been made redundant. RA would like to thank Baden for his years of work at the club and recognises this has been a difficult period for him and his team.”
The Rebels, one of Australia’s five Super Rugby franchises, open their new season with a home match against the ACT Brumbies next Friday.
“For the last two weeks, RA provided funding to the administrator to pay administration staff costs from the date of their appointment until 14th February,” the statement added.
“It was necessary for RA to step in regarding funding, given the limited funds in the Melbourne Rebels entity. As previously indicated, all player contracts … will be honoured by RA in 2024.”
The Rebels were an expansion club introduced in 2011 to try to tap into the sports market in Australia’s most populous city, where rugby has traditionally been a minority sport.
They have worked hard to build a support-base but fans have enjoyed little on-field success with the club making the post-season playoffs only once in 2020, when COVID-19 reduced competition to a domestic tournament.
The crisis has reopened the debate over whether Australian rugby has the playing talent or fan base to support five Super Rugby teams.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
Source Agencies
