The Melbourne Rebels are at last on the board in Super Rugby Pacific – but it wasn’t without a scare.
Having surged to a 28-6 lead with just 15 minutes left, the Rebels were reminded that while the Fijian Drua are in their infancy, the competition newbies are still irresistible when on song. They’d score three tries in under ten minutes, broken up only by a steadier from Cabous Eloff – to reduce the margin to eight points with time left.
One of those tries was one of the season’s finest to date, the Drua tearing up the field in 80 metres of champagne rugby, to be finished off by Kalaveti Ravouvou.
Nevertheless, the Rebels weren’t to be denied their first win in nearly 12 months, Cameron Orr crossing at the base of a ruck for the match-sealer late.
The margin, in the end, wouldn’t do justice to the Rebels’ excellent first half, regularly punishing the Drua on the attack and making the most of their opportunities.
Speaking after the match, former international Morgan Turinui said it was that which won them the game in the end.
“They had 11 entries into the opposition 22 and scored five tries. It’s something we haven’t seen from the Rebels – increased efficiency,” Turinui said on Stan Sport.
They lost the possession stats, and they were lopsided against them, but they dominated possession spent – two-thirds of the game in opposition territory.
“The building blocks are there for the Rebels to kick on from here. Smiles on their faces, confidence as they walk down the tunnel, relief in the coaching box as well.
“The good thing about playing the Drua now is you know that it is a quality opposition, you know that if you have a win against the Drua, you’ve earned it. Everyone’s been scared by them thus far, so the Rebels get a lot out of this game.
“It was the manner as well as the result which was great. Yes, they ended up scoring five tries, but for large parts of that game, they controlled territory, as we talked about at half time and before the game that they needed to, and there was really only ever going to be one winner.”
It was a noticeably relieved Michael Wells speaking after the game, having regularly been forced to tell brutal home truths of his teammates after the Rebels’ defeats this season.
For the captain, it’s the first step of the club’s rise back to relevance.
“We just showed that we have the potential to play a complete game, barring those last few scary moments where they really had a roll on,” Wells said of the Rebels’ performance.
“We executed a much more Test match style of game. We played better territory, took points on offer, executed the maul well, we played our tempo and showed that when we do that, we execute quite well and can match it.”
The Rebels’ last clash with the Drua ended with an embarrassing defeat, the new side’s first victory in Super Rugby Pacific.
Outbodied and bullied that night, Wells said addressing that and coming prepared for a tough evening at the office was front and centre in their preparation.
“We knew the last time we played Fiji, we didn’t match them physically. They made a lot of good breaks, they’re strong through contact, so we knew there was an added focus this week on defence,” he said.
“But it’s not so much making extra tackles at training, it’s more mentality. The guys were up for it today, and it showed.”
Central to the Rebels’ early surge was the experienced Matt Toomua, who put aside the disappointment of missing out on the Wallabies’ winter squad with a typically composed game.
Matt To’omua of the Rebels makes a gesture towards the crowd. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
He was prevalent with the ball, every time there was a penalty he was grabbing the ball and directing the team around him,” former great Justin Harrison said after the game.
“The intensity in defence and the simplicity in attack got the Rebels across the line.”
While the Rebels are now on the board, they’re still missing something – support. Their clash with the Drua was noticeable for the far greater – or at least louder – fanfare for the visitors, which included Toomua being regularly booed while preparing for conversions.
Wells wasn’t impressed, calling on Melbourne to show his team more support.
“At times, it felt like this was a bit of an away game,” he said.
“Fiji’s obviously everyone’s second favourite team, and some people’s first team. Having our kicker booed at our home ground when he’s lining up a conversion, it’d be nice to have it the other way.
“I know we haven’t given a lot of things to cheer about, but hopefully this is a step forward and Melbourne can start getting behind us a bit more as we earn the right to have support.”
“