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You couldn’t make this stuff up.
The Melbourne Rebels are top of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder after their 29-23 win over Moana Pasifika – another club with a tenuous future.
The cash strapped Rebels are widely expected to bow out of Super Rugby after the 2024 season but have now won back to back games following Friday’s victory in Hamilton.
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Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea became the all time leading try scorer in Super Rugby but in a losing cause.
Savea scored his 61st try in the 49th minute as part of a rally which saw Moana come back from 19-3 down to take a 20-19 lead over the visiting Rebels.
In doing so he moved to the top of the list ahead of former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau with 60 tries and ex-New Zealand winger Doug Howlett with 59.
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To the disappointment of Savea and Moana, the Rebels scored tries through Lachie Anderson in the 67th minute and Glen Vaihu in the 75th to regain the lead and a bonus point.
Melbourne’s solid start to the season seems to prove reports of the Rebels’ imminent demise have been exaggerated.
For a while there was doubt the Rebels would be able to play at all this season because of financial difficulties.
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But with the support of Rugby Australia the team has been assured they will at least be able to see this season out.
Their future beyond that remains clouded at best.
“For us as players, we just have to block the outside noise,” Rebels captain Rob Leota said on Stan Sport.
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Leota watched most of Friday’s match from the sideline.
He suffered a knee injury early, left the field for treatment and returned but then had to leave again.
“I guess for me and the leaders in the team and the coaches, the job is just to keep the group together and keep focused on one goal,” Leota said.
“For us this week that was winning on the road and winning back to back. We haven’t been very fond of doing that so that was our goal and we’re happy to come away with the win.”
Moana were also coming off a win after beating Fijian Drua for the first time.
Tana Umaga’s side again lost two players to yellow cards in the second half and that was costly.
Anderson scored when Allan Craig was in the sin bin and Vaihu after Jacob Norris’ dismissal.
The Rebels gained the upper hand late as super sub Taniela Tupou anchored a dominant scrum.
Carter Gordon also played well, running at the defensive line and offloading.
Meanwhile, Tane Edmed missed a late penalty to hand the Highlanders a gritty 23-21 victory over the Waratahs in Sydney.
“He backed himself, he didn’t come off with the kick,” NSW centre Izaia Perese told Stan Sport.
“But that’s footy. That’s life. Sometimes you’re going to get it, sometimes you’re not. We’ve all been there, been in those situations. So Tane didn’t let us down.”
