The Rebels dominated the South Africans in the first half to lead 17-0 at half-time and withstood the Cheetahs’ comeback to 24-14 before pulling away in the final 10 minutes.

Quick thinking by Higginbotham created his team’s second try with a high kick to the right corner for fullback Jason Woodward to score, and the big number eight finished it off with a try in stoppage time after a rousing counter-attack.

“It’s a great way to start the season, it’s nice to get a bonus point and they really came back at us in the second half, credit to the boys, they really held on,” Higginbotham said.

“We got them on the back foot and it really started to open up for us.”

Melbourne began strongly and scored two tries in the opening 20 minutes before former Wallaby scrum-half Luke Burgess darted over from a ruck close to the Cheetahs’ try line to stretch the lead to 17-0.

The Cheetahs hit back early in the second half with replacement Jean Cook scoring off a maul.

But despite losing open-side flanker Scott Fuglistaller to a yellow card in the 51st minute they clinched a four-try bonus point through Bryce Hegarty.

The Cheetahs scored their second try through replacement Ryno Barnes to get within 10 points, but the home side finished strongly with their fifth try coming deep into stoppage time through Higginbotham.

“We were very lethargic, especially in the first half, and we weren’t there in attack, we didn’t ask any questions of them,” Cheetahs skipper Adriaan Strauss said.

“Credit to the Rebels, they got a lot of yards on us in attack and they made us pay.

“We were shocking at ruck time, we lost possession three or four times from the set phase in the first ruck and we couldn’t get any plays going.

“They definitely upset today, especially at the breakdown.”

The Cheetahs stay in Australia where they will take on Queensland Reds in Brisbane next Friday, while the Rebels travel to Perth to take on Western Force.

Meanwhile in Auckland, the Blues scored four tries in 13 minutes either side of half-time to come from 17-3 down and beat the Crusaders 35-24.

Wingers Frank Halai and Tevita Li, and centres George Moala and Jackson Willison scored tries from the 33rd to 46th minutes as the Auckland-based Blues bagged a bonus point and consigned the seven-time champion Crusaders to their second straight loss to start the season.

Halai and 18-year-old Li – making his Super Rugby debut – scored within two minutes of each other near the end of the first half as Auckland went to half-time trailing 17-15.

Moala and Willison then sustained that momentum with tries in the first six minutes of the second half that gave the Blues their first lead.

Rookie flyhalf Simon Hickey, in his first Super Rugby match, kicked three conversions and three penalties – six goals from seven attempts – to widen the Blues’ advantage and deny the Crusaders a bonus point.

“We got the shakes in the first 20 minutes, but we managed to come back and score two good tries before half-time,” Blues captain Luke Braid said.

The Crusaders had opened a 17-3 lead with tries to hooker Corey Flynn and fullback Colin Slade but those tries owed much to some sympathetic refereeing.

Li’s try came from an intercept close to his goal-line, running the length of the field, but was referred to the video referee, as Crusaders players suggested Li may have been offside, but replays showed he began his run after the ball was cleared.

“You just can’t take your foot off the throat when you’ve got a team 17-3 down,” Crusaders captain Kieran Read said. “You help them if you give them opportunities which they took.”

The Blues have a 1-1 record before they head to South Africa next week for matches against the Bulls and Lions. The Crusaders find themselves in an early hole in the hard-fought New Zealand conference.

They closed with a try to centre Ryan Crotty, their third of the match, but could not draw within the seven points necessary for a consolation bonus point.

Reports: Agence France-Presse and Associated Press