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Australia's Rebels SupeRugby's 15th team in 2011

Rugby's newest team in the SuperRugby tournament in 2011 are the Rebels, representing the Australian state of Victoria, and more specifically, the city of Melbourne. The three nations making up SupeRugby's 15 teams (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia) now have five teams each in the competition.


Australia's Rugby Union teams in the SupeRugby competition are in a different position than their counterparts in South Africa and New Zealand. Australia does not have a domestic professional championship like South Africa's Currie Cup and New Zealand's ITM Cup. The alternate code of Rugby League is the more popular version of Rugby in Oz.


The Rebels are led by former Wallaby captain Sterling Mortlock. And, judging by their first result, a 43-0 loss to the Waratahs, it may be a long SupeRugby season for the newbies from Melbourne. The coach of the Rebels is Rod Macqueen, a former Wallaby coach who led Australia to the Rugby World Cup title in 1999.
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