Wallaby Coach Ewen McKenzie's exclusive Rebels interview

In an exclusive interview with the Melbourne Rebels Qantas Wallabies Coach Ewen McKenzie discusses the Club's direction to play local Rugby in Melbourne, reflects on his time in the Dewar Shield and talks about the Rebels season and Wallaby aspirations.

With the RaboDirect Rebels facing a bye in this week's Super Rugby competition, a record twelve players will compete in the Dewar Shield competition. For Wallabies Coach Ewen McKenzie, who was educated at Melbourne's Scotch College and represented Harlequin in the competition before going on to play for his country, the dozen Rebels playing this weekend will benefit the growth of the code in Victoria, and also benefit the young men playing as well as their opponents.

"The whole objective of having a Super Rugby team based in Melbourne, or in Perth, is to grow the game and the base of Rugby in Australia," McKenzie said. "You can put a Super Rugby team there, but you obviously need to invest in the grassroots and create a valid pathway.

"Players participating in local competition such as the Dewar Shield are an important part of that, and with the inaugural National Rugby Championship as a carrot at the end of the year that pathway will be further helped as being direct and obvious route to the Rebels and the Wallabies.

"For those Rebels going back to play match fitness is important, and the only way to get it is by playing matches! For the opponents, it's a great opportunity. When I was playing, you learnt a lot playing against Wallabies and the like, and playing against the Rebels players will test the guys who aren't professional. There are a bunch of guys on the fringes who need the opportunity to play and show their worth, and they'll relish the chance."

McKenzie, a prop who represented Australia on 51 occasions, remembers  a competition that whilst behind New South Wales and Queensland in terms of playing standard certainly had no shortage of dedicated players and officials.

"Back in 1984, when I was straight out of school, I played for Harlequin in the Dewar Shield," he said. "It's a little bit different these days; the fields are a bit more manicured than they were then, for example! 

"It was always a willing competition, very physical, and there was great passion in the competition. People outside of Victoria often don't appreciate the competition, which has been going for a long time, but the visibility of the national team was a long way away. Now the Rebels are there, and with success for the Rebels in the Junior Gold Cup as well there are a lot of things which are exciting for aspirational Victorian Rugby players."

McKenzie has been casting a watchful eye over the Rebels during their first eight Super Rugby matches, and despite heading into their bye week at 3-5 he has seen plenty to be impressed with.

"I first went and watched the Rebels in pre-season, and I was impressed with the start made by Tony McGahan as Coach," McKenzie said. "Culturally, a lot has happened around the facilities, and Rob Clarke has come in as CEO and done a good job in terms of the entertainment package of the game; the organisation is working well.

"That has transposed into some good performances and a lot more consistency across the Rebels attack and defence. Last season, the defence couldn't match the attack, but this year they appear far more balanced. There have been a few tight games which haven't gone their way, which could have made a big difference in terms of ladder position, but they've been very competitive.  The Club is heading in the right direction, and everybody knows if you come to play in Melbourne it's going to be a difficult game and a difficult environment, with a pretty special ambience at the stadium."

With Australia seemingly the dominant franchise in this year's Super Rugby, the signs are ominous for the Wallabies and McKenzie isn't surprised to see each Australian team remain in finals contention at the halfway stage of the competition.

"We've had the capacity here in Australia in the past, but we haven't had consistency," he explains. "This year has been good, but we need to do this year in, year out. We're obvious pleased with the progress that has been made in 2014, and all of the franchises are doing good things, but there's still room for improvement.

"We'll have to ultimately wait until the end of the season and see where everything falls, but at this stage I'm pretty pleased not just with ladder positions but also with how everybody is going about their business. Every team has a different approach and method, but I've been pleased with the effort and work ethic involved."

The Rebels currently have the least Wallaby representatives on their books, with just Luke Burgess and Scott Higginbotham amongst a group of international players that also include Tongan, Japanese, Fijian and New Zealand representatives, but the signs are good that those numbers may well swell in the coming seasons if McKenzie has his way.

"I'd be disappointed if teams like the Rebels aren't able to produce more Wallabies. There's a lot of interesting talent at the Rebels, and there's some foreign talent that isn't yet eligible which makes it a bit more complicated, but there's some really good players.

"I look at the fringes a lot, and the next guys coming along. Depth is such an important part of Australian Rugby and we need to know where the next player is coming from; I've been looking closely at that and I am very pleased with some of the prospects that are at the Rebels. It's all pretty positive going forward."