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Melbourne Rebels to host Chiefs in first ever Super Rugby Diversity & Inclusion Round

By Online Editors
The Rebels' COlby Fainga'a (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Cheree Kinnear / NZ Herald

The Chiefs and Super Rugby are set to lead the way in taking a stand against homophobia in rugby.

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In the wake of the Israel Folau and Crusaders sagas, a historic Super Rugby initiative will promote more inclusion and tolerance in the sport.

The Herald can reveal that next month the Melbourne Rebels will host the Chiefs at AAMI Park for Super Rugby’s first-ever “Diversity and Inclusion” round with initiatives to “lead the way for inclusion and anti-homophobia”.

The event, a joint initiative between the Rebels and Rugby Victoria, will come just months after Folau had his contract terminated by Rugby Australia for making anti-gay posts on social media.

The Wallabies star’s comments sparked a storm of controversy and focused attention on homophobia in the sport.

Last week, the Crusaders became embroiled in claims several players made fun of a gay man in a South African fast food restaurant while on tour, allegedly imitating his voice and making limp wrist gestures.

The players have denied the allegations but NZ Rugby has launched an independent investigation to examine the claims.

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According to a Rebels spokesperson, a curtain raiser will feature the Melbourne Chargers, the city’s “premier inclusive rugby club”.

Players and officials from the Rebels will also be approached to volunteer as “Diversity Ambassadors” following the campaign.

The Chiefs were unable to elaborate on the match but said they were “supportive of the concept as rugby is for everyone”.

The initiative comes after recent research from Monash University revealed an alarming presence of homophobic language present in the sport.Of the Kiwi and Australian teenage rugby players surveyed, 75 per cent had heard words such as “fag” and “poof” used in the past two weeks, with 53 per cent of them admitting to having used the slurs themselves.

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Further research revealed that 87 per cent of young gay men are completely or partially in the closet while playing sport and 75 per cent believed an openly gay spectator would not be safe at a sporting event.

Monash University’s Sport Inclusion researcher Erik Denison told the Herald last month that campaigns led by high-profile sports stars would be the best way to start stamping out the issue of homophobic language in the sport.

“There is an alarming number of players and coaches using the language,” Denison said “Coaches, especially, are normalising the language.

“It creates an environment and culture that is not fun and is one of the main reasons gay and straight people leave the sport.

“It’s not banter. It’s harmful and we need to focus on the harm it can cause.”

Monash University is set to revisit its research following the Super Rugby Pride Round campaign to test the behavioural change.

A Rebels spokesperson told the Herald: “The Melbourne Rebels and Rugby Victoria are partnering to celebrate diversity and inclusion in Rugby in the week leading into our match against the Chiefs on Friday 14 June. Our focus for this includes anti-homophobia, gender equality, disability, multicultural and indigenous heritages and faith. Further announcements around key events of our Diversity & Inclusion Round will be made next week.”

The match between the Rebels and the Chiefs is set to kick off at 9:45 pm (NZT) on June 14.

This articles first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and has been republished with permission.

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Trevor 6 minutes 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.

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B
Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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