Rebels coach Dave Wessels hits back at Morgan Turinui’s serve

The Melbourne coach has rejected criticism from one of the club’s ex-assistants as the Rebels looked to build on a promising start to the season.

Melbourne coach Dave Wessels rarely defends himself – he can be his own worst critic – but he did so on Thursday to rebuff savage criticism by former Rebels attack coach Morgan Turinui in the lead-up to Friday night’s Super Rugby AU clash with Queensland at Brookvale Oval.

“I probably uncharacteristically have had enough,” Wessels said after Turinui – the former Wallabies centre who had been Melbourne’s backs coach in 2017 – said he had not seen any improvement in the team under Wessels.

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Yet with Turinui in charge of the attack in 2017, the Rebels won only a single game and finished last in the competition, while scoring just 23 tries. At the same time, Wessels was coaching the Western Force in their final season before they were culled from Super Rugby and, despite all the uncertainty and heartbreak, still coached them to six wins.

At the end of that tumultuous season, Wessels brought most of his staff with him from Perth and Turinui was deemed surplus to requirements, with Shaun Berne installed as the new attack coach.

Wessels always believed he had parted company with Turinui on good terms and even attempted to help him find a coaching role in Japan.

Under Wessels in 2018, the Rebels – heavily supplemented by refugees from the Force – scored 57 tries and just missed making the playoffs for the first time on a countback with the Sharks.

It was a similar story last year. Again they finished with seven wins, the same total amassed by two of the teams in the finals. Another side, the Highlanders, actually qualified ahead of them for the finals despite winning only six games.

It has clearly been a frustrating journey for Wessels, who has made no secret he expected more from himself, but any objective observer would have to concede the Rebels are now looking a far more unified and composed team than they were in 2017.

“We are on a journey as a coaching staff,” Wessels said.

“I’ve certainly never given anyone the impression we’re the finished product. But I’m a lot better coach than I was three years ago and I think we are building something special.”

The Super Rugby season was abandoned in March as the Rebels appeared to be hitting their straps, having just beaten the Highlanders in Dunedin and then the Lions at home.

Nearly four months later, they resumed against the Brumbies last Saturday in Canberra and pulled to within a point before the ACT side surged over for a driving-maul try at the death, denying them a bonus point in their opening match of the Australian-only competition. The Rebels are coming up against another side which had also been building up some steam when the Super Rugby competition was abandoned, the Reds. Wessels has had the wood on Queensland coach Brad Thorn, winning three of their four clashes over the past two years, but this looms as by far the Rebels most difficult assignment by far, especially in a “home” match being played at a neutral venue.

Wessels could have chosen to play Wallabies No 8 Isi Naisarani, especially against his main Test rival, Reds backrower Harry Wilson, but in the end he decided to take advantage of their bye next week to give him any extra fortnight to recover from his hamstring problem.

He has, however, recalled Campbell Magnay to the starting side at outside centre in place of Wallaby Reece Hodge, though he was quick to deny that Hodge’s performance against the Brumbies had counted against him.

Thorn, by contrast, has named an unchanged 23 for the first time in his senior coaching career.