March 13 (Reuters) - Dave Wessels hailed his side's resilience after the Melbourne Rebels ended a month-long Super Rugby AU roadtrip with a backs-to-the-wall win over Western Force in Perth on Friday evening.
The 10-7 victory came after the Rebels played the last 11 minutes with 14 men following Ross Haylett-Petty's sending off and came in the team's final game on the road before a long-awaited return to Melbourne.
The Rebels had been forced to make a dash for the state border on Feb. 12 to avoid a potential lockdown following a COVID-19 outbreak and Wessels felt the upheaval had enhanced his team's durability.
"I was racing to the border, the ACT, we had 65 people in cars," Wessels said, according to AAP, after tries from Lachlan Anderson and Joe Powell secured victory at Perth Oval.
"I wasn't sure where we were going to stay. It was midnight. I was lining up a night of sleeping in my car. So that's where we started a few weeks ago.
"The players have really handled that well. Things have been thrown at us, and it's been a blessing for the group because it's made us more resilient.
"The connection the group has is pretty special. I think that's what got us over the line."
The Rebels' determined mindset played a huge role in their win over the Force as Wessel's side defended doggedly to record their first win of the season.
Melbourne had been forced to play all of last season away from home, but will now return to the Rectangular Stadium to take on the New South Wales Waratahs next Friday.
"I'm really proud to be going home with an away win," captain Matt To'omua said.
"But wins aren't going to come just because now we're at home, we're not that naive.
"But there's going to be an energy lift amongst the group."