Rebels hope to finish Super season on high
Jul 13, 2017 - 5:48 AM In a fitting finale to their Super Rugby season from hell, Melbourne have nine players in their starting side in doubt for Friday night's final-round clash with the Jaguares.The Rebels' season has been decimated by injuries, compounded by the Australian Rugby Union naming them as a franchise facing the cut from a revised 2018 competition.
Even now, Melbourne and the Western Force are clueless if the final round is their last in Super Rugby.
"It's a really good reference for this year," said assistant coach Morgan Turinui.
"Before training on Wednesday, there was nine in genuine doubt but now we just need to tick off a couple of guys and we'll be fine."
Turinui said Wallabies flanker Sean McMahon was a certain starter for the AAMI Park match after recovering from a dislocated wrist in an injury-ravaged year which has limited him to just four matches.
It's likely to be McMahon's last game in Rebels colours with the 22-year-old set to shift to Japan.
Turinui said it was almost a relief to bring the season to a close, with the side easily lodging their worst win-loss record in seven years in the competition, with just one victory.
"We'd love a few more games to play well, to have a few more wins but it's a finite season. And, we've had all the opportunities and we haven't taken enough of them and we've got one more chance and this is an important one for us to get up for."
The match is the last for coach Tony McGahan, who has been with the side since 2014 and has kept a low profile this week, preferring the match to be about departing players including Mitch Inman, who will play his 100th Super Rugby game.
"There's probably no staff member that's had a bigger influence on the club and I think it's really important that the manner in which we play, even more than the result, reflects what a Tony McGahan side is like," Turinui said.
"It's important we play with that stubborn, almost relentless nature and finish the season on a strong note and hold our heads high."
Source: AAP
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