SYDNEY (Reuters) -Baden Stephenson, chief executive of the crisis-hit Melbourne Rebels, has been made redundant little more than a week before the start of the Super Rugby Pacific season, Rugby Australia (RA) confirmed on Thursday.
The governing body has been paying wages at the club since it went into administration with millions of dollars of debts at the end of last month, but has given assurances that the team will see out the season.
The administrators made all staff excluding the players redundant on Wednesday but RA immediately re-hired 83% of permanent employees, including all 17 high-performance staff, mostly on temporary contracts until the end of the season.
"This provides a sufficient staffing model, complemented by support from existing RA staff, to effectively deliver the 2024 season while work is completed on the longer-term model for rugby in Victoria," RA said in a statement.
"RA can confirm that the role of Rebels CEO, currently held by Baden Stephenson, has been made redundant. RA would like to thank Baden for his years of work at the club and recognises this has been a difficult period for him and his team."
The Rebels, one of Australia's five Super Rugby franchises, open their new season with a home match against the ACT Brumbies next Friday.
"For the last two weeks, RA provided funding to the administrator to pay administration staff costs from the date of their appointment until 14th February," the statement added.
"It was necessary for RA to step in regarding funding, given the limited funds in the Melbourne Rebels entity. As previously indicated, all player contracts ... will be honoured by RA in 2024."
The Rebels were an expansion club introduced in 2011 to try to tap into the sports market in Australia's most populous city, where rugby has traditionally been a minority sport.
They have worked hard to build a support-base but fans have enjoyed little on-field success with the club making the post-season playoffs only once in 2020, when COVID-19 reduced competition to a domestic tournament.
The crisis has reopened the debate over whether Australian rugby has the playing talent or fan base to support five Super Rugby teams.
RA, still reeling from Australia's pool stage exit at last year's World Cup and the turmoil of Eddie Jones's brief return as coach, scarcely needs the cost of maintaining a Super Rugby team through the season.
The governing body took out an A$80 million ($51.87 million) loan from a private lender a few months ago but promised to use it strategically for high-performance programmes, women's rugby and reviving the grassroots.
($1 = 1.5423 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
