Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby chief executive Steve Boland will announce his resignation on Monday.
Boland is expected to step down immediately with the fledgling club to announce an interim CEO, also on Monday.
The stand-in boss hasn’t been appointed by the Australian Rugby Union, however it appears to be the first step toward an ARU takeover.
The Rebels’ major stakeholder, media buyer Harold Mitchell, will soon gift his shares to the Victorian Rugby Union.
The licences of other Australian Super Rugby franchises are owned by state unions.
With the Rebels in some financial strife, the ARU similarly bailed out the Queensland Reds in 2010 and the NSW Waratahs back in 2000.
Formerly an executive with Visy and Veolia, Boland replaced inaugural chief executive Ross Oakley in the role in late 2011.
He was the club’s chief operating officer.