| Union | Rugby Australia (Victoria) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rebels | ||
| Founded | 2017 | ||
| Location | Melbourne, Australia | ||
| Region | Victoria | ||
| Coach(es) | Jason Rogers | ||
| Captain(s) | Ashley Marsters | ||
| League(s) | Super Rugby Women's | ||
| 2024 | 5th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| melbournerebels | |||
The Melbourne Rebels Women are an Australian rugby union team that competes in the annual Super Rugby Women's competition, after Rugby Australia announced that a 15-a-side women's rugby competition would be launched in 2018. [1] [2]
The Rebels Women ended the inaugural Super W season without a single win after a 57–0 loss to the NSW Waratahs in the final round; [3] they were also held scoreless in two matches. [4] The 2019 season also ended without a single win for the Rebels as they finished at the bottom of the table. They registered their first Super W win in the 2020 season after beating the Rugby WA team in round four of the regular season. [nb 1]
In 2021, the Rebels did not win any matches during the regular season and were edged by the Brumbies in the playoffs. [5] The 2022 season saw their final round match with the Western Force cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] [7]
The Melbourne Rebels were placed in voluntary administration in January 2024 with over $20 million in debt and reportedly had just $17,300 in the bank. [8] [9] Ten administrative staff and CEO, Baden Stephenson, were made redundant and coaches were given four-month contracts. [10] [11] Rugby Australia's CEO, Phil Waugh, confirmed that the women’s contracts would be honoured in the same manner as the Rebels’ male players but was not able to place a time line on any decision about the club’s existence beyond 2024. [11]
Ashley Marsters was named as the Rebels Women's captain for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season. [12]
On 2 October 2024, Rugby Australia confirmed that the Melbourne Rebels will not compete in the Super Rugby Women’s competition in 2025, with Rugby Australia stating that an investigation into the viability of maintaining the Rebels women’s program did not identify a financially viable option for either Rugby Australia or Rugby Victoria to sustain the program in 2025. [13]
On 20 February, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced. [14] [15]
| Rebels Super W squad | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Loose Forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks
|
| (cc) Denotes team co-captains, Bold denotes internationally capped, SP denotes a shadow player and ST indicated short-term cover. | ||
Super W
| Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | BP | Pts | Play-offs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 85 | 136 | −51 | 0 | 4 | Did not compete |
| 2023 | 6th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 40 | 154 | –114 | 0 | 1 | Did not compete |
| 2022 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 205 | –168 | 0 | 2 | Lost 5th place match to Brumbies |
| 2021 | 3rd, Pool B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 57 | −32 | 1 | 1 | Lost 5th place match to Brumbies |
| 2020 | 4th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 59 | 188 | −129 | 2 | 6 | Did not compete |
| 2019 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 285 | −263 | 0 | 0 | Did not compete |
| 2018 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 239 | −218 | 0 | 0 | Did not compete |
| Coach | Term | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alana Thomas | 2018–2022 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5.26% |
| Jason Rogers | 2023–Present | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.00% |
| Totals (2018–Present) * | 24 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4.16% | |
| Updated to: 6 March 2024 | ||||||
Notes:
The New South Wales Waratahs, referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, are represented by the Brumbies, who are based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The Sydney University Football Club, founded in 1863, is the oldest club now playing rugby union in Australia, although this date is disputed by historian Tom Hickie who argues that it was 1865.
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne that competed in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. The club shared its name with a former Australian Rugby Championship team, but was unrelated. The team played home matches at AAMI Park.
Lopeti Timani is a Tongan professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Cardiff and the Tonga national team.
Reece Hodge is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a back. After playing his junior career primarily at fly-half, Hodge initially played fullback and wing for the Rebels, and primarily played wing for Australia, before eventually moving to centre. In his most recent appearance for Australia Hodge played at inside centre. Hodge currently plays for French club Bayonne in the Top 14 and the Australia national team. Hodge started his professional career in Super Rugby with the Melbourne Rebels, where he reached 100 appearances and became the team's most capped player before his departure in 2023.
Mia-Rae Clifford is an Australian rules footballer and rugby union player. She played for Melbourne, Geelong, and Fremantle in the AFL Women's competition. She currently plays for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition.
Jake Gordon is an Australian rugby union player who plays for Super Rugby franchise New South Wales Waratahs, and the Wallabies.
Melbourne University Rugby Football Club (MURFC), the oldest rugby club in Victoria, is a Foundation Club of the Victorian Rugby Union, participating in the top-tier Victorian Premier Division since 1909. MURFC is the only Foundation Club to remain continuously in the Victorian Premier Division since its inception.
Super Rugby Women's is an annual professional women's rugby union club competition organised by Rugby Australia. It is contested by five clubs from Australia and one club from Fiji, who play a single series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. The competition replaced the representative National Women's Championship with five teams owned by the Australian Super Rugby franchises, and began play in the 2018 season as an amateur league known as the Super W. The 2022 season saw the addition of a team from Fiji, and the introduction of salaries for players. The league adopted its current name in the 2024 season. Fijiana Drua are the current champions, while the New South Wales Waratahs have won the most championships (4).
The 2021 Super W season had a different format to previous seasons. With the inclusion of the President's XV, teams were split into two pools of three. This format however was only for the 2021 season. The competition will revert to the usual home and away format in 2022. After the first round of the season the Western Force withdrew from the competition due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales. NSW Waratahs won their fourth consecutive Super W title after defeating Queensland 45 - 12 in the final. A Super W Select team played the Presidents XV in the finals, they replaced the Western Force. The Super W Select were only given 48 hours to prepare.
The 2022 Super W season was the fifth edition of the Super W competition. The Fijiana Drua joined the five Super W teams for the 2022 season, and won the championship. The New South Wales Waratahs were the four-time, back-to-back defending champions.
Piper Duck is an Australian rugby union player. She plays at Flanker for the NSW Waratahs in the Super W competition and for Australia at an international level. She was part of the Australian side that competed at the 2022 Rugby World Cup.
Ashley Marsters is an Australian rugby union player. She plays Hooker internationally for Australia, and for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition. She has competed at the 2014 and 2021 Rugby World Cup's.
The Fijian Drua Women are a Fijian rugby union team based in Fiji. They compete in the Super Rugby Women's competition. They were crowned champions in their inaugural season in 2022, and successfully defended their title in 2023. The first official try to go into the history books for the Fijiana Drua Women’s rugby team was scored by hooker Jiowana Bulaoca Sauto during their inaugural Super W match against the Melbourne Rebels on March 5, 2022, at Endeavour Hills Rugby Grounds.
Georgia Cormick is an Australian rugby union player. She made her Wallaroos test debut in 2019. She plays for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition and will play for Matatū in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.
The New South Wales Waratahs Women are an Australian rugby union team that represents New South Wales in the Super Rugby Women's competition. They are the most successful team so far, having won five titles.
The ACT Brumbies Women are an Australian rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The team competes in the annual Super W competition. They have competed in every edition since Rugby Australia announced that a national women's rugby competition would be launched in 2018.
The 2023 Super W season is the sixth edition of the competition. The season kicked off on 24 March, with the final played on 6 May. In a historic first, defending champions, Fijiana Drua, got to play in front of their home crowd in Nadi against the Brumbies on 25 March.
The Weary Dunlop Shield was an annual Australian domestic rugby union match contested between the Victorian team, Melbourne Rebels, and the New South Welsh team, New South Wales Waratahs, between 2011 and 2024. Played within the Super Rugby competition, the two teams typically played each other twice a year, with the winner of each match being awarded the Weary Dunlop Shield. Created in 2011 upon the arrival of the expansion team Melbourne Rebels, the match has been contested a total of twenty-six times. The New South Wales Waratahs have won majority of the fixtures (18).
