The Rebels will have to wait and hope on other results if they’re to make this Super Rugby season’s finals after falling short against the Highlanders.
Final score
Highlanders 43
Rebels 37
The Rebels will be hoping to make their first ever Super Rugby finals campaign a certainty when they take on the Highlanders.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match and a live blog of the game in the final round of the 2018 Super Rugby season at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon, starting from 3:15pm AEST.
The equation for the Rebels is fairly simple: win this game and they are certain to feature in the Super Rugby finals for the first time in the history of the club.
Lose and, well, that’s where things get a bit more murky.
In that scenario, they would then need to cross their fingers and hope that the Jaguares are able to best the Sharks – because if not, they could get pushed out of the top eight.
Of course, even if the Rebels do win, there are big questions left over where they finish in the top eight.
A big-margin win or a bonus-point win would give them the chance to go into seventh, and if they do that they may well find themselves up against the Waratahs in finals.
That would be almost a dream matchup as it would guarantee at least one Australian side makes it through to the semi-finals.
Plus, it would give both teams an opportunity to play their finals match in Australia, giving them both a chance to play a strong brand.
As for the Highlanders, this match doesn’t mean a great deal to them – it may affect their ladder position, but either way they’re likely travelling in the first week of finals.
Depending on results, a loss may even stop them from travelling to South Africa, but their form is pretty solid after winning two of their last three.
Prediction
The Rebels will be desperate to keep their fate in their own hands here, but it’s hard to see them getting the job done away from home.
Highlanders by 11.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match and a live blog of the game between the Melbourne Rebels and the Highlanders in the final round of the 2018 Super Rugby season at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon, starting from 3:15pm AEST.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Its not the refs, its the whinging. If there were neutral refs, the whinging would take on an other form, probably about which city the ref lived for the greatest percentage of his life, and whether that city is closer to which team.
taylorman
Roar Guru
well one things certain, Aussie fans are the biggest whingers when it comes to refs. Cant play, whinge. If there was a world cup in ref whinging, aussie would win it, hands down. They need to have a separate header...football, rugby, tennis, golf, aussie ref whinging. ? every week. Whinge whinge whinge.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Well heres your solution...take the refereee out of the game. Doh!
timber
Guest
Sorry Nick, but what sequence were you watching? I saw no.16 competing for the ball on the ground against a Rebels player, the ball goes backward from his hands (also pushed forward by the Rebels player), he regathers and scores. I can't see a knock on there (other than the Rebels player), another ref may have decided otherwise but it certainly wasn't an outrageous or even controversial call.
timber
Guest
When has there ever been an act of violence against a Super ref in NZ? You throw the accusation out there and then back it up with absolutely nothing, weasel words from a sour loser. Meanwhile, the Aussie teams get to gather points in a less demanding conference, that's real.
Tipene Roar
Roar Rookie
Still crying
Tipene Roar
Roar Rookie
Still being a crybaby
Tipene Roar
Roar Rookie
I almost thought they were trying to lose they were that bad yet still won.they will knock off the only Australia team next week with their top team back
Tipene Roar
Roar Rookie
Rubbish you big crybaby
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Julius, Nicholas only saw the last quarter of the game. You will find it hard to claim that Nic is another ‘Aussie whinger’. Jackson (and his TMO) had a shocker. Hands in a ruck that never was. Penalty for holding on against a tackler who never released. TMO refusing to review a knee to a head in the air, and Koroibete being flipped onto his back by a charger taking him in the air. There are four missed penalties, at least. I, too, wish we were not talking about the referee. But NZ refs and TMOs keep giving us so much to talk about. You do know that Nicholas has written in from Wales, right? This had a lot of attributes of a great game of footy. But it was as if Jackson saw everything that the Zoo clowns wanted him to see, and little of what they didn’t.
Connor33
Guest
Cute. Suggest you watch the game again, Shane. I actually thought someone like yourself would have been a little more balanced and perhaps acknowledge that Jackson had a poor game, then perhaps not that the penalty count was 9-8. But as I noted below, whether it’s France, the Brumbies last week or the Rebels this week—and please explain to me how Koribete’s landing on his back was not a yellow card—what we’ve seen is a genuine trend line that referees in NZ seem to bias towards NZ teams. The theory goes: oh NZ teams have won so many, I better ensure that they win otherwise I’m an outlier as a refereee. Either it is this, or there isn’t a genuine fear that NZer will put the referee in hospital because of the mad passion that exists in the country. I don’t know, I never been to NZ so I’m not qualified to really make a call on it. What I do know is that we’ve seen 3 teams play NZ teams this year and dealt a horrible hand...incompetence is one thing, but the trend line of bias seems to suggest otherwise.
Harry
Guest
Once again an Australian team loses a close game against kiwi teams. Why is this so in the current format? The answer is of course a number of factors, but IMO the biggest is a lack of rugby smarts. Second is similar but slightly different - an inability to execute basic skills under pressure. Third, and third only, is the bias of NZ refs to NZ teams. And before kiwi's all howl, the same exists in SA (arguably the worst) and Australia (though we don;t seem to get many Aus refs in SR). this is understandable as their is a well documented tendency for refs to favour the home team, and, more prosaically, the players are used to playing under these refs and know their style. But to return to the first two more important points ... ball security and field possession are vital, and the coaches need to work on this.
PeterK
Roar Guru
both teams from the same country , doesn't matter who refs it would be a neutral.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
It was Maddocks last week
Danny
Roar Rookie
So I take it you upset that Gus Gardner doing the Tahs/Brumbies game tonight with Ayoub as TMO? Hometown ref etc!!
Danny
Roar Rookie
Doesn't matter if there was a forward pass anyway, foul play still overules it
Danny
Roar Rookie
Doesn't matter if there was a forward pass anyway, foul play still overules it
Worlds Biggest
Guest
So we have two of our esteemed columnists in Geoff saying ref was fine and Nick the complete opposite !!
julius
Guest
@Nicholas Bishop "They missed an obvious forward pass between the rep 9 and Naholo which even the commentators spotted in real time, then allowed the Landers rep 2 to first form a ruck, then try to pick the ball up and knock it on, then pick it up again and “score” near the line. That was a go-ahead score so it did matter" The ball was played by a Rebels player on the ground. There was no knock on. I love your claim that "neutral refs" can see things other refs can't. Three guess which side you wanted to win. Jackson penalised the hell out of the Highlanders... They would be the first to say they'd like a different ref.
moa
Guest
Maybe they wouldn't look so flash in hindsight Riddler were they under the same level of scrutiny Refs get today. I'm all for neutral refs-if only to shut up the whining and to let us get back to talking about the game. Probably wishful thinking though cos they will be ripping into the neutrals for being corrupt or whatever! Part of the problem is that the game has become so complex....and I don't think the RA's are pulling their weight and giving full support to the man in the middle.