Rugby: Melbourne pile on pressure

John Muggleton. Photo / Getty Images

The worst tacklers of 2011, the Melbourne Rebels are now justifiably talking about their defence as a "weapon" after delivering a major fright to the Super 15 champions.

The off-season recruitment of former Wallabies defensive guru John Muggleton appears to be paying off for the Rebels who consistently pressured the Queensland Reds into error at Suncorp Stadium before falling 11-6.

Wooden-spooners in their debut season when they conceded an average of 35 points and four tries a game, Melbourne lost the corresponding fixture 53-3 in Brisbane 12 months ago.

But their line cracked just once on Saturday when Reds halfback Will Genia found Dom Shipperley out wide with a long cut-out pass.

It wasn't just the menacing tackling of the first half when the Rebels took a deserved 6-0 lead that was impressive; their organisation and discipline when Queensland attacked relentlessly in the second half was a far cry from 2011.

Muggleton's influence was expected to add more steel but little was evident when NSW strolled through for three first-half tries in a 35-19 win last week.

Skipper Gareth Delve said their second outing of 2012 showed the competition's newest team were heading in the right direction, even without relying on the creativity of prize recruits James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale.

"We stepped up and made our tackles and we set a bit of a standard that we know needs to be there week after week," the Welsh No. 8 said. "If we can take another step forward then defence will be something we can use as a weapon."

Coach Damien Hill expects continued improvement and immediately made the point to his players they will now have more faith and trust in each other under the pump.

"That self-belief is now starting to creep in," Hill said. "There's been a couple of occasions when we've come close [before]. I'm hoping and thinking that now most players realise we've been at the stage for a while and it's now about finishing it up.

"While that's encouraging, what's disappointing is the opportunities we are creating we're not taking."

The Rebels' best attacking chances didn't come from Beale or O'Connor but locks Hugh Pyle and Luke Jones. Pyle pushed off two defenders in a 20m break in the first half but lost the ball while Jones off-loaded to Cooper Vuna after the break but the winger spilt the pass with the line in sight. AAP