Picking precisely the wrong time to turn in one of their worst performances of the season, the Chiefs slipped further behind the Hurricanes and left themselves dangerously close to being picked off by the Highlanders as they head into the bye week.
It was the Rebels' first victory over the Chiefs from four meetings and extended a run of futility across the ditch for Dave Rennie's men. The Chiefs win just 31 per cent of their matches in Australia, a rate worse even than their efforts in the Republic, and the 10th-placed Rebels added to that ignominious record.
As was the case throughout the first half of the season, a pair of problems plagued the Chiefs during an 80 minutes. Time and again, the visitors would find themselves in promising positions on attack, only to be undone by a lack of discipline and a surfeit of handling errors.
The former issue was especially costly as the Rebels staked themselves to a handy lead in the first half, with the Chiefs infringing on eight occasions. They were given an early warning to be on their best behaviour when Jack Debreczeni banged over a penalty from 55 metres, a range that threatened to render the match a kicking competition.
But the Rebels, to their credit, proceeded to turn down several shots at goal, encouraged by the level of penetration they managed against a Chiefs defence missing too many tackles. Melbourne captain Scott Higginbotham soon rewarded his own positivity by dotting down in the corner for the opening try, as the Chiefs continued to squander several spells of possession.
A solid set piece and a clever kicking game was wasted by a level of ill-discipline that was soon typified by a 10-point swing, with Charlie Ngatai's apparent try struck off after James Lowe was spotted throwing a stray knee in backplay.
Lowe was somewhat harshly sent to the sin bin and that wasn't to be Australian referee Andrew Lees' last contentious contribution in the half. There seemed a clear case for obstruction when Nic Stirzaker scampered away from a lineout just before the break but Lees allowed the halfback's try to stand and gave the home side a huge boost heading into halftime.
Trailing by two tries and in need of a spark, Dave Rennie turned to Damian McKenzie and Augustine Pulu, a new halves combination that gave the Chiefs much needed impetus in attack. Neither man had much of a part to play in the Chiefs' first try -- instead, it was a bit of overdue luck as the Rebels failed to deal with Tim Nanai-Williams' grubber and allowed Ngatai to pounce.
It was hardly undeserved as the pack had been piling on the pressure, winning scrum penalties and exerting their influence whenever they had the opportunity to launch a maul, but the fortuitous nature of the try did encapsulate the feeling that things weren't quite clicking when the Chiefs opted to spread the ball.
The visitors' decision-making was also deficient, often picking the wrong option when numbers were available, though one such instance eventually led to Michael Leitch's try. McKenzie's conversion attempt, though, struck the upright and consigned the Chiefs to defeat.
Rebels 16 (Higginbotham, Stirzaker tries; Debreczeni 2 pens), Chiefs 15 (Ngatai, Leitch tries; Horrell pen, McKenzie con). HT: 16-3.
- Kris Shannon
