The Melbourne Rebels shocked the Brumbies on Friday night at AAMI Park with a last gasp 25-24 win thanks to the boot of Danny Cipriani, and a try earlier on by captain Stirling Mortlock.
A week ago the Rebels were the laughing stock of the competition, going down to a heavy 43-0 defeat by the Waratahs, raising questions about their inclusion and the overall expansion of the Super 14 to Super Rugby.
Theyve proved the critics wrong though with a gutsy performance that included 124 tackles to the 33 of the Brumbies. “Our scramble defence was incredible,” said Welshman Gareth Delve.
“We knew that if we stayed in it, we could score points. Everybody stepped up. We’ve got a lot of quality in our team. We believed in ourselves.”
Former England flyhalf Danny Cipriani kicked 20 points with his six from seven kicks, including the late penalty that won the game for the home side after a controversial call by referee Jonathan Kaplan, who had earlier missed what looked like a forward pass for the Brumbies try.
For Stirling Mortlock however, scoring the first ever Melbourne Rebels try against his former side the Brumbies must have been quite special. You couldnt have scripted it better, and with the late winning kick, the city of Melbourne are now warming to their new side nicely.
The Rebels are away next week though, heading to Hamilton to face the Waikato Chiefs.
Time:
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