Rebels roll Sunwolves 35-9 in Super Rugby

The Melbourne Rebels' rock-solid defence has denied the Sunwolves their first Super Rugby win with a 35-9 victory in Tokyo.

The Rebels were the first Australasian side to face the expansion club but ensured their winless start continued on Saturday with a dominant showing at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.

Melbourne's defence starved the home side of a try as they battered the line a number of times.

The Rebels only missed nine tackles for the match compared to the Sunwolves' 29.

Lock Lopeti Timani was one of their best as he snaffled a ball when the Sunwolves were only a metre from the line, but he also spent 10 minutes on the sidelines in the second half when he was yellow-carded for an alleged shoulder charge.

Down a man, the Rebels were still able to hold firm and scored themselves through hard-working skipper Sean McMahon.

Holding an 11-6 lead at halftime, the Rebels, on the back of trips already to Perth and Pretoria this season, could have been forgiven for running out of steam.

But they stepped up the pressure in the second half to score through halfback Ben Meehan, winger Tom English and then McMahon's effort.