The Rebels, in fact any Australian side, should not lack for drive this weekend.
Let’s not mince words — the sport in Australia is up against it.
It is almost backs against the wall stuff — and for the sake of rugby across the Tasman the five Australian sides better start winning.
This has not been a great week for Australian rugby.
In fact it has been one woe after another for the 15-man game across the Tasman in the past seven days.
Four of their five Super rugby sides lost in last week’s round. The Waratahs won but that was because it played the Rebels. So one Australian side was going to be victorious.
All up the five teams have six wins between them.
The Australian sides have played New Zealand teams seven times so far this season and lost all seven.
To add to the depression across the Ditch, some fairly solid rumours then emerged about the Force on the chopping block as Super Rugby teams get cut for next year.
That was denied by the Force and then the Australian Rugby Union but there is no smoke without fire.
Participation numbers on sport were then released in Australia and rugby had taken a plunge.
There are now only 55,000 players of the sport across the Tasman, down from 148,000 15 years ago.
Other sports had also taken a dive in the survey while some, such as football, had surged ahead.
So the sport appears to have hit rock bottom in Australia and an optimist would say there is only one way to go and that is up, starting with the Rebels tonight.
The ball is firmly in the court of the Melbourne outfit.
But evidence suggests otherwise.
The Highlanders have won four of the five prior games between the teams, including each of their last two. Three of their four wins have come by a margin of greater than 20 points.
The Highlanders have won each of their last five games on home turf against Australian opposition.
This will be the Rebels’ 15th trip to New Zealand for a match. The side has managed just one win out of those 15 games.