Strapped Rebels in danger of folding

Looks like the Rabble are in dire straits.

This is in The Australian but behind the paywall.

Strapped Rebels in danger of folding
The Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team are set to fall into voluntary administration, with the ACT Brumbies also on fragile financial ground.

This was in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rugby Australia has refused to guarantee it will provide financial assistance to the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels as questions remain about their survival beyond the 2024 Super Rugby season.
The sporting body would only commit to supporting the embattled club for this year, claiming on Wednesday that any long-term decisions were dependent on whether the team was contributing to a “sustainable future for the game”.
The Rebels met Rugby Australia officials on Wednesday after the sporting body instructed the club to call in independent financial advisors to present what options they had moving forward.
The team is again the focus of scrutiny this week amid reports of the deepening financial strife its key sponsor BRC Capital – whose chairman Paul Docherty also chairs the Rebels – is facing. Ten of the investment company’s businesses have collapsed in the past two months.
In December, it was revealed that the Rebels owed millions of dollars to the Australian Taxation Office and about $1 million in fees for use of AAMI Park stadium, managed by the Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust.
The Rebels met Rugby Australia officials on Wednesday after the sporting body instructed the club to call in independent financial advisors to present what options they had moving forward.
Asked whether Rugby Australia would help the club pay its millions of dollars in debt, a spokesperson said: “RA and the Rebels are currently awaiting a report from the Rebels’ financial advisors. Following the receipt of this report RA will evaluate the best, and most appropriate course of action.
“RA is committed to exploring ways to build long-term viability for the professional game in Victoria. Any future decisions need to ensure the Rebels are contributing to a sustainable future for the game, and we want to see Melbourne as part of that future.”
The Rebels were contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
Rebels chair Docherty was the subject of news stories this week, prompted by an article from the Australian Financial Review, which revealed on Tuesday that one of those companies, dental supplier SmileStyler, was the subject of an administrator’s report that revealed a litany of problems.
When concerns over the Rebels’ future were raised in December, club boss Baden Stephenson told this masthead the financial problems were solvable, and that the issues were not unique to the club, but a broader problem across Super Rugby’s five Australian teams.
He pointed to a cut in funding from Rugby Australia due to COVID-19 and the return of Western Force (that's it blame the Force!), which reduced the money given to each club from $5.5 million a year to $3.9 million.
He also confirmed that talks had broken down for Rugby Australia to take control of the Rebels.
“We very much were open to having a conversation around the centralisation of the commercial assets of our club. We had one brief conversation … those conversations have ceased for the moment, I don’t think it’s a major priority for Rugby Australia,” he said.
With Iain Payten