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Melbourne’s quest for Super Rugby Pacific Redemption has been minimal, with the Rebels defeated the Chiefs 33-30 in a Sunday afternoon thriller.
Prop Oli Norris stopped the tackle in the 80th minute for the Rebels at AAMI Park and scored for the Chiefs.
The Melbourne Blues wanted to recover from a 43-point push and they tried hard to regain respect even if they didn’t win.
Their loss means a clean sweep of the Australian team to their Kiwi opponents in 13 rounds.
Chief captain Sam Kane says his final team is “out of jail”.
“We knew the Rebels were a better team than what they showed at the points table, and they’re not going to be like the team they took to Eden Park last week,” Can Stan told Sport.
“They showed up for a full 80 minutes.”
Rebel captain Michael Wells said it was “incredibly disappointing”.
“You don’t get rewarded for participating so we sat there,” he said.
“It’s a big step forward … but we’re still getting a little smaller.”
Reese Witherspoon took the lead in the 71st minute when Reese Witherspoon took a penalty slot to give his side a 27-26 lead.
They extended the gap with the 77th penalty but in the end it was not enough.
Chief Five-Eighth Josh Ion was the hero and villain for his team, making three of their attempts but also giving the rebels two gifts.
Melbourne took the lead in the 47th minute after scoring two attempts when they were a man, giving the ball a yellow card for the ball antics after a huge injury on the pro p’moussili chiefs lock Natoa ah Cue.
Rebel winger Andrew Callaway throws a loose pass ahead to try.
And just before halftime the rebels’ fifth-eighth Carter Gordon also blocked an ion pass and went down 80 meters.
But the Chiefs again led 19-17 in the 57th minute when hooker Samisoni crossed the Taukeyaho line, adding Ion Extra.
It looks like the Hamilton men could run away with the match while center Emoni Narawa can dance through some traffic to open a nine-point lead.
The rebels have rallied but trying too late means they are still too small.
© AAP