The Rebels will have to rebound from a horror loss in Christchurch if they are to seal a maiden Super Rugby finals spot after a 66-0 drubbing at the hands of the Crusaders.
In their worst loss in club history, the Rebels were virtual spectators for much of the second half, as the home side ran in six unanswered tries to add to their 26-0 halftime lead.
The news gets worse for the Rebels, with lock Adam Coleman suffering a shoulder injury that forced him from the field in the first half.
Their finals hopes now rest on beating the Chiefs in Melbourne next week.
Without Will Genia and with Quade Cooper starting on the bench, it was alway going to be a tough ask for the Rebels against a Crusaders team stung by their loss to the Chiefs in Fiji last week.
But the manner of their loss leaves real questions about how quickly they can bounce back to ready themselves for the most important match of their season next Friday night.
Captain Dane Haylett-Petty summed up the mood of his embarrassed troops after the match.
"We know how good they are as a team. I think the disappointing this is we didn't play the way we wanted to play and the way we know we can play," he said.
"The defence was poor and we gave too much possession to a very good attacking team.
"So credit to the Crusaders but we're still very disappointed. Luckily we get the chance to bounce back next week and we're still in with a chance."
The Rebels faced an almost insurmountable task to come back against the Crusaders, down 26-0 at the break after letting in four tries in the opening half in Christchurch.
Starved of ball and squandering the few chances they have had, the Rebels have had little chance to counter the competition leaders.
But poor defence, including 23 missed tackles, has allowed the home side to run rampant, with the Rebels failing to deal with the width of the Crusaders attack.
In a further blow to Melbourne, lock Adam Coleman was forced off the field with a shoulder injury, reappearing on the bench with ice on his shoulder and looking distressed.
The Rebels had a let-off early in the match when a wide pass from Billy Meakes was almost intercepted, with Braydon Ennor knocking on as he attempted a fingertip take.
The Rebels earnt a penalty from the resulting scrum but Reece Hodge pushed his attempt wide, missing the chance to opening the scoring.
The Crusaders quickly made up for their slow start, forcing a 5m scrum and scoring after a pinpoint crosskick from Richie Mo'unga found Sevu Reece alone on the wing just metres from the line.
The home side was almost in again just minutes later after slicing through the Rebels defence but Kieran Read inexplicably dropped the ball just metres out from an open line, butchering a certain try.
It mattered little, with David Havili racing 75m to score after a neat offload from Jack Goodhue following a Rebels turnover.
The Rebels again squandered their chances from a penalty, with Hodge putting a kick for touch dead, handing possession back to the Crusaders.
The Crusaders kicked again to the flanks ahead of their third try, with Ennor eventually crossing in the left corner to extend their lead to 19-0, with Mo'unga unable to slot the sideline conversion.
Ennor crossed for his second try in the seconds before the break, charging again on to a perfect kick from Mo'unga, with the Rebels again failing to cope with the width of their attack.
The Rebels threatened briefly in the opening minutes of the second term but the Crusaders' scrambling defence handled their raid and countered, scoring their fifth try of the match through scrumhalf Bryn Hall after Marika Koroibete, who was injected into the match for Tom English minutes into the second term, came off his wing.
Things went from bad to worse, with the tries continuing to flow for the Crusaders.
Reece (twice), Ennor and Havili scored again before Ryan Crotty capped his 150th match with a try in the 80th minute which he converted for the 66-0 scoreline.
RESULT
Crusaders 66
Tries: Braydon Ennor 3, Sevu Reece 3, David Havili 2, Bryn Hall, Ryan Crotty
Cons: Richie Mo'unga 7, Crotty
Rebels 0
