| 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 | ||
| 2022 | 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 20 February, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced. [13] [14]
| 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:
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The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne with teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Women's competitions. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. The club shares its name with a former Australian Rugby Championship team, but is unrelated. The team plays home matches at AAMI Park.
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The 2021 Super Rugby AU season was a professional club rugby union tournament organised by Rugby Australia. Announced on 11 November 2020, the tournament was the second season of Super Rugby AU, featuring the same 5 teams from the inaugural 2020 season, and ran from 19 February to 8 May 2021. The tournament was won by the Reds, who defeated the Brumbies 19–16 in the final at Suncorp Stadium, winning their first Super Rugby AU title, and first Super Rugby competition since 2011.
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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.
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.
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