The Melbourne Rebels have fallen short against the Super Rugby-leading Hurricanes with a gallant 36-12 defeat in Wellington.

The Rebels led the competition front-runners 12-10 at halftime but the home side regained the lead with a try in the 44th minute through All Blacks winger Cory Jane which they never surrendered.

While the scoreline looked comfortable, the Rebels pushed the unbeaten Hurricanes until the final 10 minutes.

A crucial period came early in the second half with Melbourne trailing 24-10.

From the 59th minute the Rebels battered the line for over 10 minutes and drew multiple penalties with Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara yellow-carded, However they were unable to find their way through the home side’s much-improved defence.

Hooker Motu Matu’u then nailed a monster tackle on Rebels fullback Mike Harris to turn the ball over.

That spelt the end of the Rebels’ challenge with a 77th minute try by Hurricanes replacement back Nehe Milner-Skudder putting the result beyond doubt, before he added a second just before the final whistle.

Former Rebel Jason Woodward also did plenty of damage, kicking four from five conversions and one penalty.

The Rebels’ points came from the boot of Harris, with four penalties from four attempts.

Melbourne coach Tony McGahan said the margin didn’t really reflect his team’s effort and felt the disallowed try by centre Mitch Inman in the 65th minute could have changed the game.

“I was really disappointed with the scoreline at the end,” McGahan said.

“I thought we were competitive for major parts of that game.

“The guys put in a terrific effort and I thought they stuck at the task really well.”

Co-captain Scott Higginbotham also felt his team deserved some reward for their toil.

“We spent that much time down on their tryline, we’ve got to come away with points,” he said.

“We have to go home and really have a look at that last 20 minutes.”