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Rebels to swap Melbourne for Japan
- Wayne Smith
- From: The Australian
- February 05, 2010 12:00AM
THE Rebels Super rugby team will almost certainly play their first match in Japan, rather than the new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium next year.
Rebels head coach Rod Macqueen revealed yesterday the new franchise is negotiating to stage a three-match tour of Japan in November in an attempt to forge some combinations ahead of the Melbourne team's Super 15 debut next February.
"The downside of a November tour is that we wouldn't be able to take any of our Wallabies signings because those players will be committed that month to the spring tour in Europe," said Macqueen.
But with the Rebels squad assembling for the first time only in August, time is of the essence. Besides, even if the Melbourne franchise does succeed in signing its primary targets, Berrick Barnes, Benn Robinson, Peter Hynes, David Pocock and Stirling Mortlock, there would be no convenient time for them to join a Rebels tour before or after the Wallabies' European campaign.
The Victorian government intends to showcase the Rebels' first outing at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, just as it will showcase its rugby league tenants with a Test there on May 7, followed two days later by the Storm-Broncos NRL fixture. Similar major events are planned for the stadium's two A-League tenants.
Exactly a month has passed since the Rebels were awarded the Super 15 licence and the new club still has not signed its first player.
The Australian Rugby Union has banned it from signing any players on the books of the other four Australian franchises before June 1. That leaves Australian players based abroad, and there has been no indication from the ARU as to what contract top-ups, if any, it will provide for such recruits.
Because the bidding process dragged on for so long, by the time the Rebels entered the market for British players, most of them had finalised their contracts for 2011 and beyond.
However, last night London's The Times reported England fly-half Danny Cipriani was in talks with the Rebels.
Cipriani, 22, whose contract at Wasps ends in May, held talks with the Rebels in London last week, the newspaper said.
Macqueen told The Times the club were targeting Cipriani for next season. "Danny is obviously the type of player we would like. He is a very talented individual and one of the players who has the skill-set that would be suitable to Super 15. He seemed very interested," Macqueen said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AFP
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225826897331
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