Shot at glory a long time coming for both Reds and Rebels

Two desperate teams square off for the right to play in the Super Rugby AU grand final.

Angus Blyth, Angus Scott-Young and Harry Wilson of the Reds celebrate after Queensland defeated the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium last weekend. Picture: Getty Images

It has been a long time coming, with lots of tribulations along the way. That applies as much to the Queensland Reds as it does to the Melbourne Rebels but on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium one of those two desperate teams will have earned itself the right to play in the Super Rugby AU grand final.

The Rebels came into existence back in 2011, the year the Reds won their first and only Super Rugby title. Melbourne, it must be said, had a somewhat more disappointing season that year, finishing 15th and last on the table. Over the next decade, the wooden spoon twice more came into their possession, though it was hardly surprising it happened in 2017. That was the season that they and the Western Force were both made to walk the plank before the Perth team finally ran out of timber.

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Only twice in all that time did the Rebels record a top-10 finish, and then by the merest margin. They finished ninth in 2018 and that was the position they occupied back in March when the Super Rugby competition abruptly was brought to a halt by a global pandemic. Just as it was starting to get interesting.

The Reds were level with them on points but had played an extra match. Still, they had battled the Crusaders – who went on to win the Super Rugby Aotearoa title – and the Brumbies – who already have qualified for the Super Rugby AU grand final – to within a sliver of victory. And they had completed their world tour of dodgy refereeing destinations.

From then on, they were scheduled to play the majority of their matches at home. They began by trouncing the Bulls and while that was the end of it for Super Rugby, they have not lost a single game at Suncorp since. If their present record sparkles somewhat, it is because the backdrop is so dull. They have not figured in the top 10 since their glory days expired when Ewen McKenzie left to coach the Wallabies in 2013.

 

So it comes as no surprise that both sides are treating this game almost like no other. It might not be a Super Rugby grand final spot at stake but, under the circumstances in this ill-starred year, a Super Rugby AU grand final berth next Saturday, playing the Brumbies in Canberra, will almost be as sweet.

It is not the time to look backwards and view how far they have come, Reds captain Liam Wright said. “We are not ready to reflect just yet,” he said. “We want to wait another week and then we can do our reflection. So it’s nice but we have a job to do.

“It’s human nature to get ahead of ourselves, to get a bit excited. We’ve made it very clear to the blokes that there is no grand final without us beating the Rebels. We’ve got one task this week.”

At least the Reds have been here before, back in 2011, even if none of the present side can recall that stylish victory over the Blues that earned them a place in the title-decider. For the Rebels, however, this is entirely uncharted territory. And for Rebels hooker Jordan Uelese the best way to deal with that is not to notice.

“It hasn’t impacted us too much,” he said. “Yes, the meaning of the game is huge but the pressure is not on us, the pressure is on them. They have a home final and they’re the in-form team. We’re not being casual about it but we’re prepping as if this is just another game …. but we’ve had extra massages this week.”

The Rebels have poked the bear by attacking Taniela Tupou’s scrummaging style and where the scrums were hardly an issue when last these two sides met, on August 15, they may well become far more central to the outcome.

And if not at the set piece, then perhaps at the breakdown. The Reds will put their faith in two of the best jackals in the competition, Wright and Fraser McReight, but the Rebels have hand-picked their opponents, entrusting the task of winning turnover ball to two of the most respected flankers in the competition, Richard Hardwick and Brad Wilkin.

The Rebels didn’t score a try the last time they played the Reds at Suncorp, losing 19-3. But they had more than enough attempts, and Uelese said converting them was the key to turning the tables.

“Last time we went up there, it was our attacking footy – not converting our tries in the twenty-two and obviously we got held up on the line five times as well,” he said.

“We get a bit of confidence in that if we convert one or two of those tries, we’re in the game.”

Additional reporting: NCA Newswire