Melbourne Rebels are the shock leaders of Super Rugby 2018 – but how long can it last?

Alex Broun 23:12 23/03/2018
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  • The Rebels are the surprise packets of Super Rugby 2018

    No-one would have expected this.

    Six weeks into the new Super Rugby season and the lowly rated Melbourne Rebels sit on top of the table with four wins from five games.

    If the finals were played now the Rebels would be the number one seeds, hosting the Stormers.

    Of course it’s March, not August, and this Super Rugby season has a long way to run, but it is still an impressive effort for a team who were fighting for survival at the end of last season.

    In the end the Rebels were the winners of the battle to avoid extinction with the Western Force, many would say unfairly, being wound up as Rugby Australia bit the bullet and shrunk the Australian Super Rugby contingent from five teams to four.

    The Rebels were the big winners, not just in terms of surviving but they also managed to sign up all of the Force’s best players and coaching personnel.

    The huge coup was tempting Force coach David Wessels to take the reins in the Victorian capital. And once he did that the Perth players followed – chief among them captain Adam Coleman, full-back Dane Haylett-Petty and centre Billy Meakes.

    Wessels also managed some more big feats, snagging returning Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia and British & Irish Lions lock Geoff Parling.

    This new Force-Rebels fusion has worked a treat already, setting records though the season is not even two months old.

    When they crushed the highly-rated Brumbies 33-10 in round three, the new-look Rebels set a new club record for three wins in a row. It’s not an All Blacks-like 18 consecutive victories – but everyone has to start somewhere.

    This followed impressive wins of 45-19 over Queensland in week one and 37-17 against the Sunwolves in Tokyo in week two.

    Melbourne crashed back to earth the following week – thrashed 51-27 in a heatwave by the Wallabies-laden NSW Waratahs.

    But far from the wheels falling off they were back to their best in defeating South Africa’s Sharks 46-14 in Melbourne on Friday.

    Just as important as the victories is the way the Rebels are obtaining them, with some bright, attractive rugby.

    The 15-man code has always suffered in Aussie Rules mad Melbourne, and for the Rebels to thrive they have to attract new fans to a game that many down south have always regarded as boring.

    It could all go horribly wrong, however, as the Rebels start a tough run of cross-conference matches against the powerful New Zealand teams.

    Last season no Australian side managed to defeat an NZ team and the Rebels will be hoping to end that trend when they host the Hurricanes next Friday.

    Following that the Rebels host Argentina’s Jaguares before travelling to South Africa to face the Bulls and Stormers.

    Then it’s back home to face the reigning champs, the Crusaders. After that they have just two more home games – against the Sunwolves and NSW – in between trips to the Brumbies, Blues, Red and Highlanders.

    By that time the Rebels’ super start might just be a fond memory, but for a team that won just one game in 2017 – 2018 is already a success.

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