In Australian rugby's season of discontent there had to be a ray of sunshine.
It came in the form of the Queensland Reds and Melbourne Rebels showdown at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
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The Rebels desperately needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive but the Reds proved to have plenty left to play for.
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Rebels lose to Reds in a nail-biter
The Rebels desperately needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive but the Reds proved to have plenty left to play for.
Both sides have flaws, stark ones, but both fought with vigour and courage to produce a compelling contest and bring some hope to supporters of tge sides and Wallabies fans too.
The Reds won 29-24 on a late try from Samu Kerevi, his second, but the form of Reece Hodge, Sean McMahon, Toby Smith, Kerevi and others reminded those watching that there are still some stars in the Australian game.
The win also ends the Reds' 13-game losing streak away from home and keeps them in the hunt for the Australian conference lead; the Rebels will be relying on results to retain any distant hope.
Points flowed in the opening minutes as Hodge slotted a penalty for the Rebels in the opening minute; then the Reds worked themselves deep into the home side's half before forcing a scrum.
Out of the scrum and after some patient passing, Quade Cooper threw a perfect lofted pass to Eto Nabuli on the left wing who drew in the defence and then passed back inside to Kerevi who scored.
Cooper's kick went left to keep scores at 5-3 after seven minutes, and Hodge slotted another penalty just moments after the restart to make it 6-5.
Tempers boiled over on 12 minutes as Cooper and Amanaki Mafi scrapped against the fence with the Rebels' No.8 lucky to avoid a yellow card after clutching at Cooper's throat.
On 18 minutes the Rebels earned a big break with Reds fullback Karmichael Hunt yellow carded for 10 minutes after conceding a penalty as the Rebels attacked the Queensland line.
But the home side couldn't take advantage at the scrum with the Reds winning the ball against the feed and taking it out of danger.
You couldn't tell the Reds were a man down as they continued to control the rucks and had George Smith creating havoc both at the break down and in open play with Smith's outside pass finding a key component in their second try.
Smith's pass found Cooper who pushed it wide to the left where Nabuli finished it off to take the lead to 12-6 on 27 minutes just as Hunt returned to the field.
The Rebels were brave at the breakdowns and had short-term contract players Hugh Sinclair and Will Miller forcing several turnovers but at key moments the home side couldn't get regular possession.
This came to a head just before half-time when the Reds had a penalty 20 metres from the Rebels' line and the Reds used their set-piece perfectly to score their third try, with Stephen Moore the scorer.
But the Reds again lost the ball after the restart and with just seconds left in the half conceded a penalty 30 metres from goal which Hodge happily kicked over to make it 17-9 to the Reds at half-time.
Rebels star McMahon made his first appearance off the bench to start the second half and immediately made an impact with his power running.
But a horror kick from Marika Koroibete was taken midfield by the Reds and they punished it in full, finding former Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham on the left side. He burst through three tacklers to score his 36th try in Super Rugby.
Cooper's conversion made it 24-12 to the Reds after 50 minutes but the game didn't feel like it was over.
On 54 minutes the Rebels showed some life as Tom English burst through the line and went one on one with Cooper who managed to trip him up but was powerless to stop his impressive offload to Miller who scored under the posts to make it 24-19.
Hunt looked to have a try on 66 minutes but a lead-up pass was ruled forward on review keeping the Rebels alive.
That ruling proved crucial as the Rebels found a try on 69 minutes as McMahon and Ben Volavola moved the ball wide to the left where Koroibete scored right on the post, and Hodge's kick missed to leave scores tied 24-24.
The Reds had numbers and a sure try on 75 minutes but they couldn't complete it with Mafi chasing down Higginbotham and forcing a knock on.
With the clock ticking down the Reds had a scrum and again ran out of it into points as they forced it to the right with Kerevi scoring the try but Cooper's kick missed leaving it 29-24.
The Rebels play NSW Waratahs in Sydney next Sunday while the Reds have a bye.
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