The Melbourne Rebels have secured their first victory of the season with a 42-27 win over the Fijian Drua.
After going winless through their opening five games this year, the Rebels held on despite a late fightback from the tournament newcomers.
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The Rebels appeared destined to run away with a giant win before the Fijian Drua scored three of the last five tries, which at one stage reduced the margin to just eight points with three minutes to go.
The victory was extra sweet for the Rebels, who earlier this month let a 14-point lead slip away which handed the Drua their first win of the season.
“It’s a much better feeling on this side of the equation than the other,” said Rebels skipper Michael Wells.
“I think we showed we have the potential to play a complete sort of game, obviously barring the last few scary moments, they really had a roll-on.
“We executed a much more Test-style of game. We played better territory, took points on offer and executed the maul well.
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“We played our tempo and we showed that when we do that, we execute quite well and can match it.
“We knew the last time we played Fiji that we didn’t match it physically. They made a lot of good breaks. They were strong through contact, so we knew there was an added focus on defence.”
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