(Ron Steiner was chief executive of Victorian Rugby Union from 1997-2008, where he worked alongside Gary Gray.)

Amidst the hive of activity as the Melbourne Rebels prepare for their Super 15 debut, look for the impish gentleman smiling and scurrying behind the scenes, regularly checking in on a well-worn mobile telephone.

Gary Gray has made a career out of acting and activity. Predominantly in and around the racing industry, but his passion over the last two decades has been rugby, a game adopted by his twin sons at school and then transferred to their father. As the immediate past president of the Victorian Rugby Union, Gray has guided the welfare of the state's small and determined rugby community.

Now an honorary Director of Melbourne Rebels, Gray has been a key link in the chain that bonds the local community with the new professional outfit. He has been a key link too in generating and securing the interest of respected Rebel leaders - chairman Harold Mitchell and coach Rod Macqueen.

A former actor - yes, he was David Emerson on the iconic ABC series Bellbird - Gray has been an outstanding if at times controversial representative for rugby in Victoria. Always looking for the angle to promote the game, mostly through challenging the status quo with new and ambitious ideas, Gray's strategic mind is more than equal to his substantial "sizzle".

Armed with the strength of character instilled as the only son by a devoted and determined mother (Gray was only a young boy when his father died), Gray's belief in people is matched by his understanding of the politics of sport and business.

There have been stoushes with the rugby establishment, fuelled by a conviction of what is best for the game and for Victoria. How else can you account for such luminaries as Mitchell and Macqueen being so prepared to support him.

During his presidency at the VRU, Gray and the VRU Board introduced a radical new club competition geared to support the original Rebels in the tormented one-off Australian Rugby Shield. This caused ructions but demonstrated how change and constructive conflict raise the bar. It was the VRU's boldness at this time which gained the interest of many of the key people now involved with the Rebels.

In standing down after four years as president of the VRU, Gray ensured a smooth transition clearing the way for respected silk and local rugby man, Tim North to assume the role. Alongside Gray and now North is Tony Barnes, a hands on club leader and former CFO of a significant listed company as honorary finance director. The calibre of these people and their Board colleagues sees the game at club level in a very healthy place.

Importantly too, it sees a unique unity of interest and purpose in integrating the amateur and professional members of the rugby family.

Family is important for Gray. He enjoys a vibrant family and a vibrant life and is a mischievous master of accents, but it will be his broad, beaming silent smile that will say it all when he watches those Rebels run on to AAMI Park on Friday night.