Under-fire Melbourne Rebels edge out ACT Brumbies for first win
Saturday 15 April 2017 15:14, UK
The Melbourne Rebels produced a fighting response to a tumultuous week with a tense 19-17 victory over the ACT Brumbies for their first win of the Super Rugby season on Saturday.
The Rebels, stung by attempts to cut them from next season's competition, fought back to win with a penalty goal by Reece Hodge in the final minutes in Melbourne.
The Australian conference-leading Brumbies, who outscored the home side three tries to one, led for most of the second half before Hodge kicked the Rebels to victory.
The Rebels' spirited performance comes at the end of a week when the Australian Rugby Union said that either the Perth-based Western Force or Rebels would be culled from the revamped 2018 southern hemisphere tournament.
Melbourne held on for a gritty victory despite three acts of ill-discipline nearly costing them the match after Colby Fainga'a, Lopeti Timani and Fereti Sa'aga were all yellow carded.
The Rebels scored their only try through winger Sefa Naivalu, muscling past four opponents to score after 14 minutes.
The home side hung on to a 13-12 lead at half-time, but fell behind when winger Henry Speight scored his second try minutes after the resumption.
The game was on a knife-edge for the rest of the second half with Hodge kicking two pressure penalty goals to get the Rebels home.
The loss ended the Brumbies' run of 10 successive wins over Australian opposition, although they are still at the top of their country's conference, while the Rebels are at the bottom despite their win.
The Brumbies are away to defending champions Wellington Hurricanes on Friday, while the Rebels travel to South Africa to face the Coastal Sharks on April 23.
