Melbourne coach Dave Wessels says the bye has come at a good time for his battle-weary team despite successive wins propelling them into Super Rugby’s top eight.
The Brumbies locked in second spot on the ladder behind the Sharks with an impressive bonus-point win over the homeless Sunwolves on Friday afternoon.
Playing a double-header in Wollongong, the Waratahs were on track for victory before fading badly in the second half, crashing to a 54-14 loss to the Chiefs.
With just one win for the season, the Waratahs sit second last with coach Rob Penney describing their record capitulation as “embarrassing”.
The Reds outscored the Crusaders in Christchurch with four tries to three but in a worrying sign for their finals aspirations three different goal-kickers failed to find the target in a 24-20 defeat.
The Rebels overpowered the Lions for a 37-17 victory at AAMI Park on Saturday night, which was the first time they had notched successive wins since round seven last season.
“We feel like we are building some consistency in our game,” Wessels said.
“We know we can bat out good performances – we might change things tactically week to week but there’s some foundation things in our game that are quite strong at the moment.”
While they didn’t have any serious injuries Wessels felt the Rebels needed a recharge after a fairly hectic start that had reaped three wins from six matches.
They are set to welcome back Wallabies utility back Reece Hodge from a hamstring injury, while lock Luke Jones will be back in the mix for their next match against the Sunwolves.
“We are almost at the limit of needing a break and I think it’s come at the perfect time so we will be fresh to go for another block,” Wesselssaid.
“But if somebody had said to us would be happy with 50 per cent return in the first block, given that we’ve had two of our big overseas trips – to Japan and Dunedin – is OK.”