Melbourne Rebels attempt to break shocking hoodoo against Waratahs in 10th anniversary match
Melbourne Rebels hope to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first game in the competition by overcoming history — and a Waratahs side that has dominated them since they entered Super Rugby.
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Melbourne Rebels coach Dave Wessels has refused to reach for his boxing gloves this week despite a winless start to a 10th Super Rugby season and a looming encounter with the club’s bogey team.
In Round 1 of the 2011 season, the Rebels first ever match, the Waratahs smashed the home team 43-0 at AAMI Park.
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The time which as passed since that inauspicious beginning has seen significant change for the Melbourne outfit in a decade which has seen them flirt with on-field promise as big names filtered in and out of the side.
Wessels is the club’s fourth coach, which has also seen several ownership and administrative changes and even a fight just to remain alive.
Through it all, however, one constant has been the Tahs seemingly unshakeable hold over the Rebels.
The NSW team has won 15 of the 17 clashes, including the last six on the bounce.
But this week is all about celebration for the Rebels, marking 10 years since that first game. And in Wessels own words, he said it’s time for the little brother of Australian rugby to “grow up”, which means beating their bogey team.
“In many ways we are still just a start-up. We’re just getting going,” Wessels said this week.
“We have had four different coaches, seven different owners, four or five different CEOs and that’s normal in some ways for a start-up still trying to figure out who they are and find their place in the market.
“It’s really time for us to grow up now, to start to bed down some of those things and get serious and deliver on some of the promise we have started with.”
The Rebels have arguably never had a better opportunity to break the Waratahs streak.
The boys from NSW have been ordinary themselves in the opening two weeks, losing both matches for the first time in their longer club history.
Through their opening two losses each, the Rebels have scored more points than this week’s opponent too – 56 to 37 – including 26 points against the Brumbies last week after conceding the first 24
Wessels was adamant there has been enough good signs from his team and hasn’t had to resort to anything drastic to turn things around, knowing the season is a marathon, not a sprint.
“You never get too up, and you never get too down. The secret of sport is you are never as good as you think you are and never as bad as you think you are,” he said.
“What you have to do as a coach, you ask fundamentally are you running a good program, are the coaches putting in the time and effort, are the senior players? If they are doing those things the rest follows on. If you are not, you have to give yourself an uppercut and go again the next week.
“My wife asked me why I looked so relaxed. I know we are going to have a good year. I think the fundamentals of what we are doing are really good. But we need to play with intensity.”
Wessels has tried to inject some intensity in to the starting line-up with a new scrum-half in Ryan Louwrens who gets his first start for the Rebels on Friday night.
Louwrens replaces Fiji international Frank Lomani in the No.9 jersey, while Toomua has been cleared of a head knock for the AAMI Park match
The Rebels have also named Richard Hardwick at openside flanker while Campbell Magnay will start at outside centre, pushing Wallaby Reece Hodge to the wing.
TEAMS
REBELS
(1-15) Matt Gibbon, Anaru Rangi, Ruan Smith, Ross Haylett-Petty, Matt Philip, Michael Wells, Richard Hardwick, Isi Naisarani, Ryan Louwrens, Matt Toomua, Marika Koroibete, Bill Meakes, Campbell Magnay, Reece Hodge, Dane Haylett-Petty ©.
Reserves: Steven Misa, Cameron Orr, Cabous Eloff, Gideon Koegelenberg, Rob Leota, Angus Cottrell, Frank Lomani, Andrew Kellaway.
WARATAHS
(1-15) Angus Bell, Robbie Abel, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Tom Staniforth, Rob Simmons ©, Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Jack Dempsey, Jake Gordon, Will Harrison, Jack Maddocks, Karmichael Hunt, Alex Newsome, Cameron Clark, Kurtley Beale
Reserves: Damien Fitzpatrick, Tom Robertson, Tetera Faulkner, Ryan McCauley, Lachlan Swinton, Mitch Short, Lalakai Foketi, Mark Nawaqanitawase.