Rebels chairman Paul Docherty is confident the organisation will come out of COVID-19 better than before despite facing a host of challenges.
In a similar move to the Brumbies and Reds, the majority of Rebels staff have had their hours and pay reduced but remain working in line with the Federal Government's JobKeeper program while players are training in relative isolation.
Docherty said he was confident that the game, and its member unions, would survive the coming challenges of COVID-19.
“In terms of employment, whether that be players or staff or our community people, it's been tough for everyone,” he said.
“I’ve been really proud of the way that everyone's reacted, the way they've communicated.
“We have,as a general rule from the outset said we're going to over communicate, we're going to talk to our people, we're going to be honest with them.
"I think, my personal view and I'm hugely optimistic that the Rebels as an organisation comes out as a better organisation.
“I'm hugely optimistic of that. I know other people put a more negative lens on it, saying Gee it's going to be tough and all the rest of it. I don't deny that it will be but I absolutely think we're better at the back end of it.”
Docherty said he was confident that Australia's Super Rugby franchises and Rugby Australia would survive with the action that has been taken so far, along with a forthcoming player pay deal and also assistance from government and World Rugby.
“I think we'll all get through it, personally," he said.
“Yep, the game's absolutely got some financial challenges and we're going to have to meet those head on in the next six months but if I'm talking generally, (and) about the melbourne rebels, yep.”
Docherty said the earlier completion of a player pay deal would have been ideal but called for a more optimistic view of the current situation.
“Our complexity is we're tied to Rugby Australia, they hold the broadcast deal, they hold the purse strings in relation to the distribution of certain funds and so as a result of that, it's quite a complex piece,” he said.
“Now, would we have liked to have seen it done earlier?
“Yes, absolutely, we would all like to have seen it completed earlier.
“I think the one ray of sunshine from my perspective is it feels like there's a genuine consensus about where we need to be and a settling of where the game is for a few months and the thing I say all the time is that by settling these things down you start to change the narrative and the narrative needs to change.
“We need to get back into this positive narrative around, 'Okay, we've gone through this pain, we've managed to get to the end of it, now what are we looking at here?”
Docherty also warned against rushing into any further leadership change at Rugby Australia, after an overhaul of the board at last month’s annual general meeting.
Rugby Australia welcomed new board members Peter Wiggs, Brett Godfrey and Daniel Herbert to the board last month at the annual general meeting, a move that has already seen some impacts.
Wiggs and Herbert have both been involved in recent discussions around player pay cuts and one of Wiggs and Godfrey is tipped to take over from chairman Paul McLean in the coming months.
“One of the things we've been talking about for 12 months, we're not alone in this conversation, is that we thought renewal at the board level was important and that then starts to get thinking in and around strategy and the way that you do things,” he said.
“I think that's been important and we've seen some great appointments to the Rugby Australia board.
“When you get renewal you start to talk about what's the strategic direction.”
Docherty said any further changes should not be considered until the path through the COVID-19 crisis was clearer.
“Nobody could've predicted where we got to with COVID it's in the middle of this.
“You’re already in a rocky boat and then you get hit again by the cyclone.
“I think from that perspective for me, it's about settling down for the next few months and saying, 'Where are we financially and what are our mechanisms, just like every other company, what are our mechanisms to ensuring that we stay afloat?
“We start to talk about putting games on again.
“Then I think we sit down and we say what is the strategy here for the game going forward what does that actually look like?
“I don't think, to be honest, those meaningful conversations need to be taking place at this point in time as we're trying to get through this.”
