Rugby: Canes looking to learn from loss

Ardie Savea caused the Rebels some anxiety in their pre-season trial match and starts tonight. Photo / Getty Images

Hammett's men clear the air after Sydney defeat but remain wary of the threat posed by Rebels tonight

Judge the Hurricanes on how they bounce back from a loss when they meet the Melbourne Rebels tonight.

Consistency has been a problem for the Hurricanes during Mark Hammett's reign as coach and as they looked at racking up an unprecedented fifth straight win last weekend they were tripped up 39-30 by the Waratahs in Sydney.

They have spent the week in Melbourne as they look to a Rebels side who shape as a bogey team for many in Super Rugby.

The Rebels are a melting pot of nationalities and rarely click but when they do they have the ability to torch unsuspecting outfits who arrive at AAMI Park expecting to notch up a bonus-point win.

The Hurricanes are playing with a rare freedom having found their groove during the past six weeks and an improved defence has provided a solid base for them to attack from.

Coming back from their two-game road trip to Australia without a victory would be a sin given both games were there for the taking.

After the loss to the Waratahs, the Hurricanes' dressing room became a chamber of truths.

"There's no hiding, there was some pretty honest and upfront discussion," Hammett said. "But we know what we need to do to get back on board pretty quickly.

"We were pretty disappointed with our passion defensively but on the other side of that we ended up having to defend a heck of a lot because we turned the ball over 21 times."

Skipper Conrad Smith had a similar line of thinking.

"A lot of the guys were very honest in what went wrong," he said.

"I think we'll move on from this and be a better side because of it, hopefully."

The Hurricanes have made a point this week of noting how strong the Rebels are statistically but that has most likely been done in a bid to avoid complacency.

Granted the 11th-placed Rebels may find themselves in the top five of many categories when you crunch the numbers but the most telling number about them is three.

They've only won three from nine this season and if the 5-5 Hurricanes want to contend for the playoffs then beating sides like the Rebels is a must.

"It's always been a fight; no team's really put them away," Smith said of the Rebels. "And that's always a sign of a committed side and a side that's really passionate about what they do."

The Hurricanes will have a mobile look to their forward pack tonight with Ardie Savea's pace set to be on show from the opening whistle after being limited to a reserve role behind Jack Lam recently.

Savea's openside apprenticeship behind the Samoan international is moving at a steady pace.

"I'm quite close with Jack and he's a man that shows [the way] through his actions," Savea said.

With a home outing against the Highlanders on the horizon next week, the Hurricanes need to show they have the toughness to come back from a frustrating loss tonight.