Melbourne Rebels went blow for blow with Australian conference leaders the ACT Brumbies at AAMI Park on Friday night but were ultimately beaten on points.
The Brumbies' attack was cleaner and their control of possession, especially in the first half, too much to overcome as they won 30-22.
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Brumbies beat Rebels in Super wrestle
Melbourne Rebels run into a Super Rugby finals road block, with the Brumbies extending their Australian conference lead with a 30-22 victory.
The two clubs showed why they are the best of the Australian sides this campaign as both conjured moments of brilliance but the Brumbies were the stronger side in the key moments, especially when the Rebels climbed to within three points of the lead at the hour.
The Rebels will take confidence from the return of full-back Mike Harris from injury and their ability to match it physically with the imposing forward pack of the Brumbies. But as for making the finals, their chances now rest on beating some of the best sides in the competition and hoping for some unlikely floundering from the Brumbies in their relatively easy run to the finals.
The Brumbies commanded possession in the opening minutes with a 25-phase drive which eventually netted a Rebels penalty that Brumbies five-eighth Christian Lealiifano converted for 3-0.
Jack Debreczeni missed his first penalty kick minutes later but after Harris' line break took the Rebels back into attack, Debreczeni found room in midfield and attacked the line, before an inside pass to winger Cam Crawford allowed him to score the first try.
Debreczeni's kick from in front of goal made it 7-3 on nine minutes.
But the lead didn't last as a scrum penalty on the Rebels put the Brumbies deep inside the advantage line and their line-out went down to their celebrated rolling maul which powered over the line with David Pocock awarded the try.
Weight of possession and field position continued in the Brumbies' favour as penalties continued to plague the home side. On 31 minutes another long Brumbies drive was rewarded close to the line as lock Rory Arnold lunged over to score. Lealiifano's kick from close range made it 15-10 to the Brumbies.
The Rebels looked to a risky counter-attack late in the half and it backfired badly as the ball was lost 40 metres from their own line before Brumbies centre James Dargaville threw a potentially forward pass to Lealiifano who had no defenders in sight and scored the try. The Brumbies took a speedy kick attempt which missed but denied the video review of the try.
The Rebels almost had a late try but were ruled to have been held up at the line. They could have taken a penalty kick but went for glory only to drop the ball soon after as the Brumbies led 20-10 at half-time.
The Rebels looked a changed side to open the second half controlling the ball and pressuring the Brumbies and the resulting possession saw them score a try as Debreczeni pushed the ball to the far right, eventually finding Reece Hodge in space as he scored next to the right flag. Debreczeni kicked the conversion from the right touchline to leave his side trailing 20-17.
Crawford's night ended on 49 minutes when he was forced from the field with his right arm in a makeshift sling.
The Rebels' strong start was let down by some missed tackles during a direct attack from the Brumbies who broke down the defence before peeling to the left and setting up Scott Fardy for a 50th-minute try.
The Rebels' attacking confidence wasn't dented as they forced a break down the left then gained a line out with the resulting set play working a treat as Harris and winger Sefa Naivalu were left in the clear for Naivalu to score. Debreczeni's kick missed, making it 25-22 on 57 minutes.
Some unexpected fancy footwork from Brumbies prop Allan Alaalatoa saw him score under the posts on 64 minutes but a video review found a knock-on earlier in the play and cancelled out the score.
But just as they had done all night, the Brumbies kept on trucking and a flowing move to the right found the Rebels' defence outnumbered as winger Nigel Ah Wong scored on 72 minutes, giving his side a match-winning lead.
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