All Black joins Rebels
28 May 2010
The Melbourne Rebels have signed All Blacks and Chiefs lock Kevin O’Neill.
According to Fairfax Media, O’Niell will join the new Austalian Super Rugby franchise for their debut season next year. The 28-year-old, who played one Test against the Springboks in 2008, missed most of the Chiefs’ Super 14 campaign due to an Achilles injury but made a cameo of appearances in the latter rounds.
It has also been announced that Force prop Nic Henderson has made the move to Melbourne.
The Rebels nearly have a full squad, with big names like Greg Somerville, England pivot Danny Cipriani, rugby league convert Cooper Vuna, Wales flank Gareth Delve and former Wallabies Stirling Mortlock, Julian Huxley,and Adam Freier.
The Chiefs’ loss of O’Neill follows the departure of law-troubled Sione Lauaki, who signed with French club Clermont next season.
31 Comments
28 May 2010, 08:25 am
this team is just a combination of has-beens and fringe players……when you consider the quality the FORCE have and yet how much they struggle, I dont think it’s gonna be pretty for this team when the realities of super-rugby hit next year
somerville-decent enough
cipriani-was a massive flop after being so hyped up..an average player
cooper vuna-who?
gareth delve-not bad
mortlock-the biggest joke of all. everyone knows he’s about to collect his pension and hasnt been injury free in ages. great player in his day but way over the hill. will be their equivalent of andre pretorious for the force
huxley-now that the melodrama has faded, lets be real…huxley was never THAT good…just a hardworking utility back
adam freier-their best buy
28 May 2010, 08:26 am
Very keen to see Cipriani playing S14
28 May 2010, 08:41 am
@flanka(flanka)-1: would be interesting to see what the coach can go with these so-called has-beens and fringe guys……
might be a struggle though…
a message to he people who want another SA team in he S14….. where will you get the players?.
l:
28 May 2010, 09:02 am
@Staal(Staal)-3: yeah, he’s a good coach…but then again some say McQueen coached the brumbies in a different era and the game has changed a lot since then. This seems to be too much of a mish-mash squad and gelling it together will be tough. At least when the FORCE started it revolved around a great amount of Queensland talent so they already had some sort of culture with 3/4 of the squad being from the same place. This rebels squad is looking too much like a barbarians side and not like a franchise…do they even have a single melbourne player?
28 May 2010, 09:15 am
All Black lock… What a joke! A one test wonder when everyone else was sick, lame or lazy. Melbourne whipping boys.
28 May 2010, 09:49 am
@Oubaas2009(Oubaas2009)-5:
Don’t think they’ll be that bad. 1st season will be tough, but Melborne will start to draw players from the Force and Brumbies soon enough.
And they have a very astute coach. Among the, if not the, best coach in the S14.
28 May 2010, 09:54 am
@seamus(seamus)-6: They will weaken all the other S14 teams in Oz which is great.
When last did Rod Macqueen coach at a decent level? He has been out for a long, long time.
28 May 2010, 10:07 am
@Oubaas2009(Oubaas2009)-7: He has been out of rugby for about 10 years. The game hasn’t changed that much since then. The players are bigger and faster and stronger, there have been some tweaks of the rules, but the basics have remained the same – good first phase ball, strong defence, ability to hold onto the ball and a couple of game breakers.
Macqueen will do well.
28 May 2010, 10:13 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-8: I think the game has changed a lot since Rod coached. I just wonder how close he has stayed to it?
Will be interesting to see what he does over there. Not rating the chances of the Rebels but I do think they will weaken the other Oz teams with the main ones being the Force. Just not enough depth hence the recruitment of some very average overseas players.
Good luck to Rod, I used to really respect his views. He worked closely with Ian Mac back in the day. They did alot of swopping of ideas. Wonder if they still do?
28 May 2010, 10:24 am
@Oubaas2009(Oubaas2009)-9: The thing with Australian rugby has always been that due to a lack of a domestic competition, there have been very limited spots available – before the Force, there were only three fully profesional teams so some players headed over to league, some players stopped playing and others headed overseas.
A new team should mean more options available, and should mean that there are more players available. It is interesting that in Australia the talent tends to be more spread over the 4 teams – with the exception of the Force based on their geographic location, but even they have 5 or 6 players in the Wallaby squad.
28 May 2010, 10:51 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-10: The creation of a team doesnt mean players suddenly pop up….it simply means more poaching from overseas and perhaps from rugby league. I dont think it strengthens wallaby rugby at all. The more talent is spread the fewer combinations. Look at how with the boks we have combos between the bulls, sharks and stormers then a few other players from the other franchises to complete things. I think that works better than spreading the talent thin.
28 May 2010, 11:18 am
@flanka(flanka)-11: Yep, you are correct, it takes a while for those players to filter through the ranks. That is why any team with foresight invests in their academy. Toulon have a bunch of overpaid stars, but their academy won the under 21 competition in France.
The Force have a number of half decent young players coming through their academcy now – it has taken a while, but they are arriving. A new franchise means an investment in young talent which might not have been there in the past.
Give it five years, and the benefit of a new franchise in Melbourne will become apparent.
28 May 2010, 11:27 am
Guys, please give us an article stating the squad as far. So far it seems worse than the Lions…
28 May 2010, 11:29 am
Is Lauaki allowed into France…?
28 May 2010, 12:02 pm
@Provincejoulekkading(Provincejoulekkading)-2: So am I. A very talented player who will relish the faster-paced S15.
28 May 2010, 14:07 pm
@flanka(flanka)-1: @Staal(Staal)-3:
The Brumbies where also labeled the “Great Unwanted” at the beginning of the S12.
They soon showed their Northern neighbours a thing or two about Rugby.
The Rebels have an uphill battle for sure. But don’t dismiss them just yet.
28 May 2010, 14:17 pm
@Panzer Chief(cane)-16: Brumbies already had a strong schoolboy rugby tradition in Canberra so the talent was always there….Melbourne dont have the same roots or rugby tradition. Its all just rugby mercenaries going over for a quick buck
28 May 2010, 14:43 pm
The Rebels will beat the **** out of the Cheaters and Pathetic Lions and will competitive against the Sharks and Bulls
28 May 2010, 15:03 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua)-18: ive copied your post and will have it saved for the end of the super 15
28 May 2010, 15:04 pm
@SexyTime(SexyTime)-13: that is the worst comment ever…
28 May 2010, 15:06 pm
@flanka(flanka)-19: unless lions get butch or a whole makeover, the only thing that will prevent them from losing to all 5 kiwis and 5 aussie sides would be a schedule not including a fixture of won of them…
lions first team to go 2 years without a win
28 May 2010, 15:15 pm
@flanka(flanka)-19: …thats if the Lions will still feature in the Super 15….:capeflatssmiley:
28 May 2010, 15:18 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua)-22: Don’t bet your house on it mate.
28 May 2010, 15:20 pm
Whether Lions or Kings or Spears….they will be hammered by the Baabaa Rebels
28 May 2010, 15:31 pm
Rebels are the first step in NZ becoming another OZ state
28 May 2010, 15:53 pm
@flanka(flanka)-17: With the Victorian Rugby Union being established over 100 years ago, Melbourne actually have a much stronger rugby history than the Force, who aside from the Saffa expats there, had absolutely no association with Rugby.
Amateur ranks yes, but the basis is there, much moreso than the Force had when they first set-up.
Having a fifth franchise will be testing on depth in the short-term, but as Wolfman said, it will benefit Australian rugby for a long time to come.
Opportunities will now be there for the young kids who were scouted to one of the 16 League or 16 Aussie Rules academies as young as 12 to continue playing Rugby, knowing there is a future there.
@SexyTime(SexyTime)-13: No team will be worse than this years (and possibly next year too) Lions team. Ever.
28 May 2010, 16:03 pm
@DonutDunning(DonutDunning)-26: The Lions are the worst team in the history of the competition. Complete waste of time and the sooner they get a new coach the better.
28 May 2010, 16:17 pm
@DonutDunning(DonutDunning)-26: good point you make with regards to greater options for the youngsters rather than just AFL and NRL
28 May 2010, 18:21 pm
@flanka(flanka)-1: there are far more players than that. Lipman, Weeks, Gerrard, Lachie Mitchell…25 in all. I’ll say they’ll go better than the Force next year.
28 May 2010, 18:23 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-27: aye
29 May 2010, 09:44 am
Why is everyone making out like Cipriani is some awesome buy? That guy is useless! He’s going to get pummled at Super14! You can’t win when you have a fly half like that. He’s not much better then Earl Rose
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