Danni Cipriani gives Rebels cause to celebrate

Danny Cipriani kicked a contentious penalty in the dying seconds to hand the Melbourne Rebels an emotion-charged 25-24 win over the ACT Brumbies yesterday as ecstatic fans celebrated the team's first victory in Super rugby.

Trailing 24-22 with a minute left, the Brumbies were punished for a bit of innocuous-looking push-and-shove after a collapsed scrum, allowing former England fly-half Cipriani to slot the ball over from nearly 40 metres out.

The kick gave the Rebels pin-up boy a 20-point haul and completed a stunning turnaround for the new team in the southern hemisphere provincial competition, who were hammered 43-0 by New South Wales in the season-opener last week.

"The scrum was a bit 50-50. We were pushing them back getting penalties, they were pushing us back and getting penalties," said Cipriani, who slotted six penalties. "And right when it counted our experience came through."