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Eddie: ‘Rebels bad for Aussie rugby’
Eddie Jones says Australia should not have been awarded a fifth Super Rugby team.
The Melbourne Rebels will be Australia’s fifth team in the extended Super 15 next season. However, former Wallabies, Brumbies and Reds head coach Jones lamented this decision.
‘The addition of another Australian franchise is not good for Australian rugby nor for the competition,’ Jones said. ‘The reason they’re in is because of TV rights. The current 14-team competition is just starting to find its feet and this year is the most competitive it has been for a while, with eight or nine teams in contention.
‘Another Australian side is just going to weaken the third and fourth teams. If you consider South Africa, they have a great number of players but can still only support four very good Super 14 sides.
‘It’s unrealistic for Australia to have five teams and it will be bad for Wallaby rugby in the short term, for the next 10 to 15 years. They haven’t exactly signed a whole lot of quality players.’
The Rebels will be allowed to sign 10 foreign players to strengthen their squad. But Jones used the Western Force as an example of why the Rebels will be a flop after a season or two.
‘There are only two areas in Australia that produce rugby union players – New South Wales and Queensland – and if you are a youngster from there and you have a choice between Melbourne or Perth to live in, it’s a no-brainer where you’ll go.
‘So the Western Force (based in Perth) are the side that will really be affected and they’re weak enough as it is. They spent huge amounts of money on players like Matt Giteau and Nathan Sharpe and now what?’.
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http://www.keo.co.za/2010/04/09/shep...ack-for-force/