Melbourne’s eminent entry into the Super Rugby club took another step in the right direction when the Rebels showed they truly belong.

Although the Rebels lost 14-19 to the seven-time champion Crusaders, they attracted a crowd of 13,013 for the first ever Rugby Union game at the new state of the art stadium in Melbourne.

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The Rebels, despite the loss,  gained valuable time on the field as their first fixture against the Waratahs, at the same venue, is only a fortnight away.

Coach Rod Macqueen kept Danny Cipriani on the bench, as James Hilgendorf took over at pivot – while the Crusaders fielded a formidable outfit, despite the absence of superstars like Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.

The game was a scrappy affair, which isn’t surprising – with both sides using the majority of the extended bench and the two halves being broken down into four 20 minute quarters.

After some wayward handling and passing, it was down to Crusader Matt Todd to break the deadlock with a try in the 17th minute – a result of the Crusaders having the run of play. New Crusader Matt Berquist added the extras, but there will be concern over another new recruit, Israel Dagg, who limped off before the first quarter was up.

The Rebels gradually got back into the half with Stirling Mortlock, playing only his second game since surgery, setting up Rugby League convert Cooper Vuna to hammer over the line and register the Rebels’ first ever points at their home ground.

The Rebels then took the lead, with Hilgendorf scoring a try to add to his earlier conversion. He again added the extras leaving the battle poised at 14-7.

The Crusaders came back in the second half, exploiting weaknesses in the Rebels defence via a grubber kick and slick hands.

These led to Adam Whitelock, brother of lock Sam and No. 8 George, to score two tries that took the wind out the sails of the home support.

The Rebels didn’t do themselves any favours with some very poor passing at stages, with Danny Cipriani’s long pass going too far forward for wing JP du Plessis to clean up with 10 minutes to go.

The Rebels captain, Mortlock, did bring cheer to the home ground after Whitelock got delivered a hospital pass and Mortlock produced a bone-crunching tackle.

It was a game of stops and starts, and while the rugby wasn’t of the highest standards at times, when it did get going it was rather entertaining.

The Crusaders may have walked away with the spoils, but there is an air around Melbourne that says the Rebels belong on the Super Rugby stage.

The scorers:

For the Rebels:
Tries: Vuna, Hilgendorf
Cons: Hilgendorf 2

For the Crusaders:
Tries: Todd, A Whitelock 2
Cons: Berquist 2

Teams:

Rebels squad: Adam Byrnes, Alister Campbell, Tom Chamberlain, Danny Cipriani, Gareth Delve, JP Du Plessis, Nic Henderson, James Hilgendorf, Julian Huxley, Richard Kingi, Michael Lipman, Hoani Macdonald, Lachlan Mitchell, Stirling Mortlock (captain), Kevin O’Neill, Nick Phipps, Ged Robinson, Luke Rooney, Jarrod Saffy, Greg Somerville, Afusipa Taumoepeau, Heath Tessman, Cooper Vuna, Laurie Weeks.

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Adam Whitelock, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 George Whitelock, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Brendon O’Connor, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Chris Jack (captain), 3 Owen Franks, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements – from: Codie Taylor, Ben Franks, Luke Romano, Luke Whitelock, Steve Alfeld, Tyler Bleyendaal, Tom Marshall, Willi Heinz, Andrew Olorenshaw, Dominic Bird, Tom Taylor, Nicholas Barrett.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Australia), Keiran White (Australia)