Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom leading private group with plans to save Melbourne Rebels

FORMER Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is leading a consortium trying to buy the Melbourne Rebels and save them from Super Rugby’s axe.

Could former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom be the Rebels super Rugby saviour? Picture: Megan Slade

FORMER Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is leading a consortium trying to buy the Melbourne Rebels and save them from the axe.

Elsom confirmed to the Daily Telegraph he is part of a group of private investors talking to Melbourne’s current owner, Andrew Cox, about purchasing the Rebels’ Super Rugby licence.

Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer is an adviser to Elsom’s consortium.

Elsom, who captained the Wallabies between 2009 and 2011, has been involved in club ownership before as part of an Australian consortium (along with Dwyer) that took over French club Narbonne in 2011.

Could former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom be the Rebels super Rugby saviour? Picture: Megan Slade

It is understood the former 75-Test flanker has spoken with Cox, who two weeks ago opened the door to selling in a meeting with ARU CEO Bill Pulver. The Daily Telegraph reported last week the sale price was $6 million.

“It is just basically a group of people who want to put up some cash to stop the Rebels going down,” Elsom told the Daily Telegraph.

“It’s to keep Super Rugby in Melbourne and to make sure the boys there have a place to play and their families have what’s been promised to them. It sounds like there has been an offer from the ARU to close it down, which in our view is totally unacceptable.”

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Elsom said the steps to buying the Rebels licence remained “a bit murky”. The Daily Telegraph understands Cox would require ARU approval to sell his licence to another private group.

“The group is trying to talk to both at the same time,” Elsom said. “But the ARU seems pretty adamant they need to cut a team. We totally disagree with that, in the short term and long term.

“That is ludicrous and extremely expensive when you consider they’d lose more private investment as well as investment from the Victorian government, which is well into the eight figures for them. It is a very expensive exercise that is not something that meets any of the goals of Australian rugby, or gives any consideration for the families and players who moved down there and made Melbourne their home.”

Elsom played 75 Tests for Australia.

An ARU spokesman said they’d not had any contact with Elsom. Cox did not return calls.

Dwyer, who is not an investor, said he was involved to try and fight for the retention of “five Australian teams” in Super Rugby.

“It’s as simple as that,” Dwyer said. “I don’t see any advantage in us losing a team whatsoever.”

Dwyer and Elsom, along with the FMG consortium, took over struggling Narbonne in 2011 and using Australian players, coaches, administrators and even sponsors, returned the French club to competitiveness in second division over the next four years despite having the small budget in the league.

They were one of three clubs demoted to third division last year for financial reasons but won an appeal and remain in ProD2.

The shock development around Elsom’s proposed Rebels takeover came as the Victorian government began to weigh in heavily.

Sports minister John Eren called on Cox to give a public statement confirming he would not sell the franchise, and Victorian Major Events wrote to Pulver saying the use of money set to be paid to the ARU in a long-form deal for rugby in the state would be an “abandonment of the good faith agreement” with Victoria and its government.

In a dramatic day that also saw players meet on the topic, Melbourne’s assistant coach Morgan Turinui launched a blistering attack on the ARU and even RUPA for letting players suffer mentally under the uncertainty of their situation.

“Andrew Cox looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said the Rebels will be here for years to come,” Turinui said.

“But from what we have been told (by Cox) we are the most safe club because we have a private owner who will not sell to the ARU but the issue I have with our players is they read the media and they are being debilitated.

“We are so focused on the mental health issues facing young people, young sportsmen today then on the other hand we have the ARU putting them in a situation where they are under extreme stress — it’s not acceptable, it’s disgraceful.”