Paxinos underwhelmed
When I read an article like Cannon’s or Stathi Paxinos’ I really wonder if these alleged opinion makers understand the impact the Rebels will have in Victoria.
Yes of course we’d like a team with some players who can be easily identifiable. It’s a crowded sporting market here, and the ‘wow factor’ as Paxinos calls it, would go along way.
Eddie Jones also said not so long ago that the Melbourne Rebels would be the undoing of Australian rugby. A fifth team dilutes the player pool. I would contend, however respectfully, that Cannon, Jones and now Paxinos have missed the boat.
Quite apart from being their participation in the Super 15 next year, the Melbourne Rebels are ambassadors of the game in Victoria. They’ll go to schools and clubs running clinics and promoting the game. More importantly they’ll inspire the rugby community.
They’ll inspire players, coaches, and administrators. Young kids in schools will have their horizons opened and their opportunities multiplied. Places like Broadmeadows, Footscray, Wyndham Vale – part of the rugby union heartland in Victoria – where some kids struggle for opportunities will be given a chance to achieve, succeed and excel.
Take a Melbourne Unicorns game I watched recently. Quick handed, nimble footed wingers darting up the lines, loose forwards scurrying around the ruck, and some beefy pugilistic packs carrying the ball up the middle of the ground, bullying their opposition.
Now imagine what its like for those players, running out for their game of park rugby knowing that they might be watched by Ben Darwin or Mark Bakewell.
The presence of the Rebels in Melbourne changes everything.
At the end of the day, Victoria’s best don’t have to “go North” to seek their fortune.
Paxinos might be a underwhelmed with the list.
We, the Victorian rugby community, on the other hand are quite beside ourselves. We’re excited at the names have signed. We’re excited that we have some seasoned, established names. We’re excited that we’ve got some youngsters to watch. We know that success takes time. We’re patient people.
We’ve waited a long time for this.
