The ‘dog’s balls’ comparison driving Rebels’ historic finals charge
Melbourne Rebels coach Dave Wessels has latched on to a World Cup comeback story to remind his players that anything is possible as the club fights for a historic finals berth.
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Update: Sporting history is littered with turnarounds in performance so remarkable one week’s vanquished become the next week’s victors.
It’s a message Melbourne Rebels coach Dave Wessels spelled out to his players after last Saturday’s thrashing by the Crusaders in a bid to rebuild the belief needed to create club history.
Picking up his dejected men was mission number one for Wessels who quickly reminded them of the opportunity still in front of them; beat the Chiefs and play Super Rugby finals for the first time.
“I told the boys a story about the 2007 World Cup. In the opening game South Africa beat England 36-0 and in my mind it was one of the most one-sided Test matches you’ll ever see,” Wessels said.
“I was lucky enough to go to the press conference, the England coach and captain really looked beaten up. But six weeks later those guys were in a World Cup final against the Springboks, the same two teams.
“They went from absolute dog’s balls one week to nearly the world champions a couple of weeks later, that’s the beauty of sport.
“So what’s happened has happened. That’s been the messaging this week and we have concentrated on just a few things to get our attitude in the right place.”
Wessels hasn’t been alone in re-building belief in a playing group which has already equalled the most number of wins for any Rebels team in any season.
Veteran playmakers Quade Cooper and Will Genia, the only two Rebels to win a Super Rugby title, have been ramming home the message that Melbourne’s best is as good as any team in the competition.
“When we’ve been hot, we’ve been hot. When we are at our best, we are going to be very hard to stop,” Cooper said.
“So it’s about having that belief that we have done it, we have to be the best version of ourselves.
“If we go out there and play our football, I have no worries about the Chiefs. I believe in our team.”
Genia, who missed the crushing defeat from the Crusaders after being rested, said the motivation to play well this week was obvious, but the messaging was strong regardless.
“The message has been strongly around not feeling sorry for yourself and understanding that we are in a position that if we win this week, we play finals,” Genia said.
“That’s enough motivation to want to pick yourself up and I think the guys have done that really well.
“If you’d told us before the last round if we had a game to win we’d be playing finals we would take it.
“Certainly that’s the feeling around the group at the moment.
“In that sense, I definitely think we’re prepared and I think in the way that the guys have trained thus far we’re really looking forward to it.”
Chiefs’ approach can suit Rebels
Melbourne Rebels have played the Chiefs six times in Super Rugby and the Kiwi team has won five times.
But the stats for season 2019 paint a positive picture for the Rebels to turn that around on Friday night. The numbers say that this time, right now, when Melbourne needs a win more than ever, the Chiefs are gettable.
Six years since their second consecutive Super Rugby title win in 2013, the team from Otago are among the leakiest in the competition.
Only one team, the last placed Sunwolves, has conceded more tries (58) and points (457) than the Chiefs through 15 games in 2019.
The Kiwi outfit are also second for most missed tackles (381) and no team this season has allowed more run metres.
But, as always, stats don’t tell the complete story.
While the Chiefs are outside the eight, in 10th spot on the table, that’s due in huge part to a horror start.
They didn’t win any of their opening five matches, and twice conceded more than 50 points.
The Chiefs only won three of their first 11 games.
But they have found form over the past month, with three wins in four matches, including a stunning come from behind win over the Crusaders, who last week trounced the Rebels 66-0.
They’ve done that with a fast “ball in play game” as Rebels coach Dave Wessels called it, a game style the Melbourne mentor thinks suits his team as well.
“If I’m honest, this game, when we first looked at the calendar, was one we thought we would want to target,” Wessels said.
“The Chiefs are a team that has a very high ball in play time. We’ve actually done well in the game where the ball in play percentage has been high, that’s the way we train and the way we have been conditioned.
“If they try and play that way it will also suit us. Part of it is which team is going to stick together the best under pressure.”
THE BREAKDOWN
Season stats that matter
Tries
Rebels 55 Chiefs 54
Total points
Rebels 385 Chiefs 392
Tries conceded
Rebels 52 Chiefs 58
Ponts conceded
Rebels 406 Chiefs 457
Try scorers
Rebels 17 Chiefs 25
Line out wins (per cent)
Rebels 94 Chiefs 88
Missed tackles
Rebels 357 Chiefs 381
Originally published as The ‘dog’s balls’ comparison driving Rebels’ historic finals charge
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