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Melbourne Rebels sign highly-touted teenage duo for 2022 Super Rugby

By Online Editors
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Melbourne Rebels are thrilled to announce the signings of Lukas Ripley and Zac Hough ahead of the upcoming 2022 Super Rugby season.

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The exciting pair have committed to the Rebels until at least the end of 2023, bolstering Melbourne’s strong core of young talent.

“It’s awesome to have two highly sought-after, talented young players like Lukas and Zac commit to the Rebels and want to be part of the connected culture we’re building in Melbourne,” Melbourne Rebels general manager Nick Stiles said.

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“Zac is an excellent back rower with a vast array of skills and in-game awareness, while Lukas possesses an outstanding work rate with a strong touch pass ability, which we were targeting at the centre position.

“We’re really pleased with the balance we’ve developed with our core squad, so to add to the calibre of this talent underneath, ready to come through over the next two to three years, it’s going to put us in a great position to create sustainable, long-term success for the Rebels and for Victorian rugby.”

At just 19-years-old, Ripley is regarded as one of the most exciting young centres in Australian rugby following two impressive campaigns with The University of Queensland and Souths in Queensland’s Premier Grade, after a dominant final year of First XV’s with the prestigious Brisbane Boys College.

The Mackay-born prodigy joins Melbourne having gained two season’s worth of valuable professional experience as a Queensland Reds academy member.

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The powerful runner also won selection in this year’s opening Junior Wallabies squad, joining current Rebels Josh Canham, Glen Vaihu, Ngalu Kavapalu, Lolesio Sione, Taliu Tuia, and brothers Mason and Carter Gordon, who have all been selected in the esteemed national program over the course of the season.

Ripley credited the Rebels strong family orientated culture as being the key driver behind his commitment.

“I’m really excited to be joining such a fantastic club as the Melbourne Rebels, and meet my new teammates and rip in,” Ripley said.

“What really stood out to me was how welcoming and supportive the club was, and just how family orientated the staff were who spoke to me – I can’t wait to get started.”

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Joining Ripley in Melbourne is electrifying forward, Zach Hough, who is considered the best prospect in schoolboy rugby in Queensland.

Currently in his third season of First XV’s at Brisbane Boys’ College, Hough is a dynamic flanker possessing a ferocious appetite for contact, with an inherent ability to break opposition lines.

Hough joins the Rebels sporting a winning pedigree, having recently led Brisbane Boys’ College to a remarkable outright GPS Rugby Premiership in 2020, leading to the 18-year-old being selected in a merit World XV schoolboy team.

The strongly built back-rower said he’s excited to reconnect with former Brisbane Boys’ College teammate Mason Gordon and kick-off his Super Rugby career in the sporting capital of the world.

“I’m ecstatic to be joining the Rebels and grateful for this wonderful opportunity to showcase the person and player I am,” said Hough.

“One of the key drivers for joining the club was the opportunity to come down and train with such an elite program, in a lush city like Melbourne.

“There’s a few familiar faces at the Rebels that I’ve already played with or against, so that’s going to be great for our team cohesion and I can’t wait to get started.”

– Melbourne Rebels

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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