How the NRL’s greatest players and the ‘worst Maroons’ inspire the Rebels

The Rebels brought back two stars from their Melbourne neighbors Storm gunslingers Christian Welch and Cameron Munster to deliver rallying team addresses as they approach their first-ever Super Rugby Pacific final.

The eighth-placed Rebels are rated 27-1 odds of upsetting the top-ranked Hurricanes by bookmakers in Saturday’s quarter-final in Wellington, but former Storm skipper Welch has urged them to prove the doubters wrong.

He and Munster used their State of Origin experience, most notably in 2020, to win the series 2-1 after Queensland were described as the “worst Maroons team”.

(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

“We showed a little video from the 2020 Origin series when we got the comment that we were the worst team in the 40-year history of the concept,” Welch told AAP.

“We were trying to find parallels between being the underdog. I told them about our experiences because no one in New Zealand had given them a chance.

“You’re really playing for something bigger than yourself. You’re playing for your state and they’re playing for each and every one of the 200 players who put on a Rebels jersey, especially since this could be their last game.”

Christian Welch as Maroon. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Melbourne will fold at the end of the super season, according to news from Rugby Australia before the final round match, and Welch said this would also spur the Rebels.

“I told them, ‘Rugby Australia has given up on you, so go out and prove them wrong and knock down the number one team,’” he said.

“It’s about hard work and rolling up your sleeves. Hurricanes may get more stars, but they can take them because they have nothing to lose.

“After a year, it will be an amazing story.”

Welch has personal links to the Rebels, having shared a home with flanker Brad Wilkin over the past five years and, before that, former Wallabies backrower Sean McMahon.

With the Rebels disbanded, Wilkin was forced to leave Melbourne in search of a new club.

“It’s sad because we lived together for most of our 20s and we’ve been through a lot.

“We suffered serious injuries. He did three ACLs and I did two ACLs and one Achilles.

“He’s been a real help to me and I think I’ve been good to him.

“We’ve played a lot of different sports, but it was great to have someone to go home to and talk to about our struggles and the things that challenge us.

“It would be sad because there are really good people on the Rebels side and really good staff who don’t know what they are going to do.

“I think everyone says, ‘Kill the rebels,’ but they’ve forgotten the human element.”

© AAP