The Rebels letter also asserts RA received this broadcast and media income and,while obliged to share it with the five Super Rugby clubs,was aware that each of them were underfunded and in significant financial difficulty.

Secondly,the directors of the Rebels have identified a range of other causes of action they propose to bring against RA. Chief among these are allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct by RA and its directors in relation to ongoing funding that was promised to the Super Rugby clubs as they engaged in a “joint enterprise” of each fielding a team for the Super Rugby Pacific Championships.

The Melbourne club,which had its inaugural season in 2011,has endured a reduction in funding for five successive seasons. The Rebels also cite promises of funding that would arise on completion of a private equity transaction of $150m – $250m.

Implicit in the impasse is a suspicion not all five Super Rugby clubs are being treated equally,with the Sydney-based Waratahs no longer facing an existential threat,despite earlier reports of a similar realistic debt level as the Rebels.

With $6m of the Rebels debt owed to its own passionate supporters and the possibility of negotiating a deal with the ATO,there is still a possibility of the Melbourne club finding a financial saviour to meet an effective debt as low as $5m.

RA were approached for comment.

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