Rugby-Crushed Rebels' Super season in peril after dismal start

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The Melbourne Rebels' nightmare start to Super Rugby Pacific continued with a dismal fade-out against Fijian Drua over the weekend and more pain looms against the undefeated ACT Brumbies in the next round.

The injury-ravaged Rebels are now 0-3 for the season, having squandered a 14-point headstart in their 31-26 loss against the Drua on the Sunshine Coast.

While the Fijian expansion side celebrated their first win, the Rebels' performance triggered a torrent of criticism from rugby pundits.

Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui said the Rebels were fielding players who weren't Super Rugby standard and accused the team of lacking heart.

"The great compliment to the Drua, and the indictment on the Rebels is, truthfully, the Drua players wanted it more,” he told Stan Sports.

"They showed more urgency, showed more effort, and that was the difference."

Winless through last year's one-off Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition, the Rebels have lost their last eight championship matches in succession and their season is already on a knife-edge before meeting the heavyweight teams of New Zealand.

Fourteen players in their squad, including Wallabies backs Reece Hodge and Andrew Kellaway, and forwards Rob Leota, Richard Hardwick and Jordan Uelese, were unavailable for the Drua due to injury or suspension, forcing coach Kevin Foote to field raw replacements.

But the Rebels were still expected to be able to fend off the inexperienced Drua, who were thrashed by the New South Wales Waratahs and Canberra-based Brumbies in the opening rounds.

Rebels scrumhalf Joe Powell said a number of new players were still "finding their feet" and dismissed media speculation that his team were set for a winless year.

"Roles aren't