Plan to pool Super funds a joke: Rebels

New ball game: Scott Higginbotham of the Melbourne Rebels. Photo: Getty Images

Melbourne Rebels boss Rob Clarke has warned that centralising Australia's Super Rugby operation risks "blowing up the game once and for all", declaring it "an absolute joke" if officials believe it can solely solve rugby's problems.

The cash-strapped Australian Rugby Union is considering a radical transformation which would see the Rebels, NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds merge operations to form an eastern seaboard powerhouse.

The ARU's board met on Monday to discuss a potential new model of Rugby Australia where teams would pool assets and cut costs.

"[ARU chief executive] Bill Pulver has talked about challenges in the game and looking at ways to make it more efficient and more effective to deliver our programs," Clarke told SEN radio in Melbourne.

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"But to think that a pure centralisation model is going to solve the ills of Australian rugby is an absolute joke.

"And if anybody went down that path, [they'd] be running an enormous risk of blowing up the game once and for all."

Clarke is also adamant the Rebels, who finished 12th last year with five wins, won't be cut from the competition when a new Super Rugby broadcast deal is negotiated next year.

"There are discussions around the broadcast and Super Rugby changing formats ... [it] doesn't mean the Rebels will be axed or combined into anything else, it couldn't be further from the truth," Clarke said.

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Plan to pool Super funds a joke: Rebels