Tony McGahan and Australian Wallabies player Sean McMahon both threw their backing behind warm-up matches being played in the city, during their visit as part of the Rebels Regional Roadshow on Wednesday.

The pair, along with the club’s chief executive Peter Leahy and a host of other headline players,

were a hit with youngsters during the clinic and meet-and-greet session at St Patrick’s College.

McGahan said there would be some issues involved with playing regular home and away games in regional venues like Ballarat, such as television coverage and ground conditions, but said pre-season fixtures could be a possibility, given the right planning.

“It would be fantastic, absolutely,” McGahan said.

“For pre-season, there certainly wouldn’t be any reason with regard to logistics and those sort of things.”

McMahon, who won three caps for the Wallabies last year, was also upbeat about the possibility of heading to regional centres for competitive matches.

“Definitely pre-season games – (I’d) love to come out and have a game out here,” McMahon said.

“I’ve played in Orange.

“We played a Melbourne Rising game out there and that was awesome to go to a country town out that way and play a big fixture match.

“Playing in country towns is always fun. You generally get a good crowd and it’s usually a good day.”

McMahon said visits to Ballarat as part of the Rebels Regional Roadshow were important for young and aspiring rugby players.

“Obviously (Victoria) is an AFL-orientated state and for us to come out to places like Ballarat and spread the word of rugby and the Rebels to young players who want to maybe aspire to be Super (Rugby) players in the future, I think it is very important that we get out here and teach them what we got taught when we were juniors,” he said.

Leahy on Tuesday said the Rebels would bring rugby back to Ballarat, which hosted the club for a practice match against Fiji on the verge of its inaugural Super Rugby season in 2011.

tim.oconnor@fairfaxmedia.com.au