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Melbourne Rebels insist there’s no need to panic about the season ahead despite the Super Rugby trial schedule from hell burning them early.
The Rebels endured a difficult first season last year, picking up the wooden spoon with just three wins from 16 matches.
And expectations weren’t exactly cranked up ahead of season two with a 36-0 hammering by the Chiefs in their first trial match in Geelong last Friday.
The Rebels are scheduled to play New Zealand’s three strongest provinces in their trials – with the Blues next up at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday night followed by the Crusaders the following week.
But experienced back Mark Gerrard said the tweaks necessary aren’t major, and can be fixed by their opening Super Rugby match against the Waratahs on March 2.
“It is a reality check what happened – 36 points to a donut’s not a very good scoreline, but in saying that we’ve got two games to correct what we need to do,” Gerrard said on Monday.
“We don’t play for another three weeks. We still have a few things to address, but we don’t need to stress or need to worry about what’s happening right now.
“There’s a couple of combinations we need to iron out the creases … there’s not overly that much.
“But the Kiwis do the basics well, and that’s something we have to do if we want to be competitive in this competition.”
Gerrard is confident working Wallabies Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor into the side is on track, despite the pair having trained for only the past few weeks.
“They’ve been with us for a month now and we’re getting very, very close with them,” Gerrard said.
“They’re the type of players that you don’t have to tinker with much – you have to adjust yourself to how they play.
“It creates opportunities for yourself in certain positions.”
Skipper Stirling Mortlock, who missed last Friday’s match with a knee injury, didn’t take part in most of a tough and lengthy training session on Monday.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.