Super Rugby AU: Melbourne Rebels halt Brumbies juggernaut

The Brumbies juggernaut was derailed as the Melbourne Rebels produced one of the greatest performances in the club’s history.

Melbourne Rebels halfback Frank Lomani gets ready to attack against the Brumbies at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Getty Images

The Brumbies juggernaut was spectacularly derailed on Friday night as the Melbourne Rebels produced one of the greatest performances in the club’s history to blot out their arch-rivals 30-12 in the rain at Leichhardt Oval.

Appropriately Rebels coach Dave Wessels became the most successful coach in Melbourne’s history – scoring his 20th win – after he masterminded a performance in which his side out-enthused the Brumbies from the first minute to the, well, next to last.

As it happened, the Brumbies dominated right at the death, with replacement flanker Will Miller crashing over for a consolation try, after receiving five penalties in the last 10 minutes.

The Rebels’ victory pushed them up to second on the ladder on 15 points, three behind the Brumbies, although the Reds could still regain second spot with a bonus-point victory on Saturday night over the Waratahs at the SCG.

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In a sense, this result was coming – even if it did take all involved by surprise. The Brumbies may have gone undefeated through their first four matches of the Australian-only edition of Super Rugby but the reality was that they could have lost to the Rebels, the Waratahs and Reds, who they only beat after the fulltime siren.

It was a sign of the maturity of the Canberra side that they could tough out the wins even when they weren’t playing particularly well but the Rebels picked up on the unmistakeable signs: the Brumbies weren’t playing particularly well.

What they had to do was put them under pressure and in that endeavour they never let up. They dominated early territory and possession and after only three minutes Rebels captain Matt Toomua sensed some confusion on the Brumbies left edge, linked up with five-eighth Andrew Deegan and put fullback Reece Hodge away for a sliding try over the line.

That rocked the Brumbies but not as much as the try which followed just 11 minutes later. A kick ahead was charged down – that would happen on a fairly regular basis as the Brumbies kickers were crowded for time and space – and Test winger Marika Koroibete hacked the ball downfield. He made a meal of toeing it a second time, the ball squirting off his boot at right angles, but he scooped up Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead’s fumbled attempt to gather the ball in, and offloaded to flanker Brad Wilkin for a stunning try.

The Brumbies needed to restore some order and it was no surprise that they turned to their driving maul for the first try in the 18th minute. Technically speaking it was scored by the backs but the only one outraged when Joe Powell snatched the ball out of Folau Fainga’a’s hands was the Brumbies hooker. That broke his run of having scored in his past six matches.

But until Miller’s try right at the death, that was it for the Brumbies on the night in the points-scoring department. The Rebels, though, had another two tries in them before halftime, with Hodge scoring a second from a Toomua grubber and a slow Tom Banks reaction while right on halftime Jordan Uelese sneaked over the line after No 8 Isi Naisarani had taken a quick tap just five metres out.

Indeed, they looked like scoring one minute after the halftime hooter only for Naisarani to knock-on at the back of the Rebels scrum as he spotted an opening.

Still, at 27-7, it was the most first-half points the Rebels had scored away from The Stockade, AAMI Park in Melbourne.

If the Brumbies intended to win, they would have to make a record comeback. Their previous best was 19 points and they never looked like doing so.

The Rebels might not have been able to maintain their extraordinary composure and handling in the wet as the second half unfolded but it mattered little as all the other parts of their game remained rock solid.

“It just felt comfortable in that sense,” said Toomua. “It’s a simple game when you win the contact. We knew our defence was good, particularly in the wet. Sometimes it’s more about territory than possession and I thought we did that well.”

He was quick to single out Deegan, even though he had displaced him from five-eighth for this match. “His kicking was outstanding. He might have pushed me out of a job. He was great, he really was. A calm head and he was exactly what we needed.”

Yet Deegan was far from alone. Every Rebels player contributed, and heavily. As for the Brumbies, this might be the loss they desperately want to forget as they head to the bye, although not before they have learned the many lessons from it.