Early years: 1888 to 1945 The Melbourne Rugby Union was established in 1888 and the first two clubs were founded in that year. However the tour was prematurely ended by Britain's declaration of war on Germany just two days after the team arrived at
Plymouth on 2 September 1939, with all sport in Britain cancelled.
Amateur rugby: 1945 to 1995 In 1958, the first test match in Victoria was staged at
Olympic Park Stadium, with Australia hosting the
Maoris.
Modern era: 1996 onward The Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) bid unsuccessfully for the fourth Australian
Super 14 licence, which eventually went to the
Western Force prior to the 2006 season. However,
New South Wales gave up a fourth franchise for the
Australian Rugby Championship, allowing Victoria to field the
Melbourne Rebels in that competition. In November 2009,
SANZAR announced that Australia had won the 15th Super rugby franchise licence, and the
Australian Rugby Union awarded it to the Melbourne Rebels consortium led by media magnate
Harold Mitchell. The VRU did not initially own or run the Melbourne Rebels. On 27 June 2013, the Rebels announced that foundation shareholders Harold Mitchell AC, Bob Dalziel, Lyndsey Cattermole, Alan Winney, Ralph D'Silva, Gary Gray, Paul Kirk, Leon L'Huillier, David Ogilvy and Michael Bartlett had transferred 100% of their shares to the Victorian Rugby Union. The two organizations combined operations as a result of the transfer with Ross Oakley concluding his tenure as CEO of the VRU once the transfer was made. Rebels CEO Rob Clarke took responsibility for both organizations. Jonathan Ling became the chairman of the Melbourne Rebels, replacing Harold Mitchell. Peter Leahy was appointed General Manager of Community Rugby to oversee the operations of local competitions and all Victorian Community Rugby activities. ==Current competition==