There’s just one week to go in the 2019 Super Rugby season and, although most of the finals places are locked up, there are still a couple of spots up for grabs.
As far as Australian fans go, all eyes will be on the Melbourne Rebels looking to make their first appearance in the Super Rugby finals.
To do that, however, they’ve got a difficult match against the Chiefs to navigate. They can still qualify with a loss, but a win would definitely help Rebels fans breathe a lot easier.
Can they recover from last week’s shellacking against the Crusaders to sneak into the eight?
We were joined on the Game of Codes podcast by Roar rugby expert Geoff Parkes to analyse their upcoming fixture and rate their chances of a finals appearance.
Listen to the discussion:
Melbourne looked set to feature in their first finals series last season, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss to the Highlanders saw them eliminated. The Rebels have been thereabouts for much of 2019, but a poor run of form has their spot in jeopardy.
Visit our Game of Codes hub to catch the full episode and be sure to subscribe and review on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever else you’re listening.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
At least the Crusaders game is no longer the worst performance by a super rugby team in a long time anymore!
piru
Roar Rookie
Ok I stand corrected apparently not tackling is the new tackling
soapit
Roar Guru
Genia has been poor. Hard to judge Cooper completely playing outside that. I do think Cooper would go better in a back line with a bit more depth
soapit
Roar Guru
Wallaby 58s should be çll then Cooper
Geoffrey
Guest
And yet they still finished above the Tahs. Wow
Ex force fan
Guest
RA spend more than double the amount of money to maintain the Rebels franchise than on the Force and the Rebels still did not make the Top 8. At the moment RA is only spending nothing on the Force and millions every year on the Rebels. With the level of investment we should expect the Rebels to be title contenders not struggling to make the finals! The Force never enjoyed the level of RA support and financial backing that the Rebels are getting. So TWAS you are not comparing apples with apples nor bang for your buck.
piru
Roar Rookie
Possibly, but I think there's a tendency towards doom and gloom with supporters of the Aussie sides sometimes.
Peter
Guest
Bobby, thanks. Fair points you make. (That sentence was accidental, but it’s so Jedi-like I think I’ll leave it.) :-)
Paul D
Roar Rookie
"They fielded an experimental halves set up " To a degree yes, but it's not like they were a couple of debutantes out of club rugby. It was not an inexperienced side, and there were a lot of Wallabies and leaders on the field. It was the worst result from an Australian Super Rugby side in a long time by a country mile. I think the rebels have gotten off pretty lightly.
Bourkos
Roar Rookie
I wonder if it was too obvious that Wessels didn't care about the match and that vibe was felt by the players. They will (hopefully) be much stronger this week, with much more to play for
Bourkos
Roar Rookie
What happened to no7 Hardwick. That guy has class written all over him at the force. He has enjoyed ghosting when he has played this season
Bourkos
Roar Rookie
If wright gets the 10 gig there are going to be some absolute blowouts against the Brumbies. It seems as if he is trying to turn the ball over sometimes. He has only one ok game for the Brumbies and is otherwise a massive liability
Bourkos
Roar Rookie
Best bit is the cheika has no excuses come wc
Olly
Roar Rookie
Hang in there!!! I am in Brisbane and have had to live with the forever developing Reds. It was worth it for that one season of glory!!!!! The beer tasted so much better that year!!!! In terms of the Rebels, something is going on with selections. It just does not make sense why the coach has clearly gone away from a team setup that suited the game plan. I would take a guess that RA and the Wallabies have had something to do with this as the young Rebels coach has aspirations and likes to tow the line.
Olly
Roar Rookie
"impersonating defence" funny while being true
piru
Roar Rookie
I think a little too much is being made of the Rebels' loss to the Crusaders. They fielded an experimental halves set up and the Saders were at their rampant best. I hope for the Rebels' sake their players aren't taking things too hard, as that's possibly the biggest worry after this game.
Redsfan1
Guest
The Rebels don't even deserve to be in the discussion. Two wins against the Sunwolves and Reds. No wins against South African opponents and 1 squeaky win against Highlanders at home early on. Blown away by all decent teams. A coach that has been ridiculously overrated based on him talking big about culture in pre season with no track record at the Force. A play making combination that hasn't shown form in years.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
A lot more than $6M was spent on the Force. That much is spent on each team every year.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
So the 6 mil spent on the Force wasn't as wasted as the $31 mil spent on the Rebels..
Rob M
Roar Rookie
Rebels are in a tailspin, can't see them winning this.