A senior Rugby Australia administrator was prepared to let the Brumbies "fall over" under debt alongside the Melbourne Rebels, before the ACT franchise was later taken over by the governing body as part of its centralisation overhaul.
The explosive revelations played out in Federal Court in Melbourne on Thursday when RA chief executive Phil Waugh was answering questions as part of the Melbourne Rebels vs. Rugby Australia hearing.
The Rebels are suing RA for a reported $30 million after the club was wound up in 2024.
While Waugh was in the dock on Thursday, it was now-RA chairman and former Wallabies centre Daniel Herbert in the spotlight, after a WhatsApp chain between RA officials was discussed in court.
"We shouldn't take on Brumbies or Rebels debt, let them fall over," Herbert, who was a non-executive director at the time, was revealed to have said in the thread on Nov. 8, 2023, when both franchises, as well as the NSW Waratahs, were under financial stress.
The Rebels barrister, Bernard Quinn QC, then put Herbert's comment to Waugh, quizzing him as to whether a "thumbs up" emoji reaction was firstly his, and then whether he was agreeing with Herbert's sentiment.
"Mr Herbert expresses the view, 'We shouldn't take on Brumbies or Rebels debt, let them fall over'. And there's a thumbs-up," Quinlan continues. "Was it your position that you agree, you would have agreed with that proposition that Mr Herbert was expressing in the WhatsApp message? Regardless of whether it's you or not that's responding, did you agree with him on that day?
"No, I didn't," Waugh replied.
Quinn then asked Waugh as to whether he thought that wasn't his thumbs-up reaction, to which Waugh replied: "No, even if that is my thumb, it's not uncommon for me to acknowledge receipt of a message with, 'I've got your message'. It's not, 'I've got your message and I agree with your message'. It's a recognition that I've actually received, and acknowledging receipt of, a message."
The hearing broke for lunch soon after and while Quinlan indicated the thread, and its metadata, might be revisited later in the day, that did not transpire.
Regardless, the fact that Herbert -- who replaced Hamish McLennan as RA chairman two weeks after that WhatsApp exchange -- indicated he was prepared to let the Brumbies join the Rebels in voluntary administration won't exactly thrill fans in Canberra.
The Brumbies were eventually centralised under Rugby Australia in July 2024, just two months after the Rebels' demise. The Waratahs had earlier been absorbed by RA on Jan. 1 2024.
While the ACT had debt of $2.4 and NSW Waratahs were in the red for $3 million, the Rebels' losses were far worse when they entered voluntary administration on Jan. 30 2024, Melbourne's debt totalling $21.9, $11.7 million of which was owed to the Australian Tax Office.
The Rebels saw out the remainder of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, with RA paying players and staff through to its conclusion. However, with two rounds of the regular season to play, Waugh and Herbert told those same players and staff the club would not continue beyond 2024.
In years prior, there had been suggestions that the Brumbies and Rebels could merge, while a potential merger between Melbourne and Moana Pasifika was also canvassed with New Zealand Rugby. It did not eventuate however, with a dispute over such a plan forming part of the hearing last week.
While the Rebels did not make the finals until their final season, the Brumbies are two-time former champions of Super Rugby and Australia's best-performing Super Rugby franchise, likely resulting in a massive outcry had the club been allowed to fold alongside Melbourne.
The hearing continues in Melbourne on Monday.