Super Rugby: Stormers surge past the Rebels in Round 16

Thank you to our friends at the Rebels Media Unit for this report.

The Stormers reinforced their position at the top of the South African conference with a convincing 40-3 victory over the Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park on Friday night. The Cape Town based side hit the front after just two minutes, after which the result never looked in doubt.

The Rebels played their part in what was a keenly-fought contest, but failed to threaten the Stormers line often enough to take home the spoils. Another strong crowd of 15,238 was in attendance to cheer the popular Adam Freier onto the field for the first time in a Rebels jersey, the Rebels Army celebrating with pre-prepared banners and songs.

It was a familiar tale for the home side as possession was surrendered cheaply when finally secured and missed tackles proving costly in defence. Richard Kingi’s ability to set runners free in the congested midfield was a highlight but too often half-breaks lacked support and came to nought.

The first half was a scrappy affair in which the Stormers rarely allowed the Rebels much opportunity in possession. On a perfect night for rugby neither side found top gear early on, with just one try to show for the half.

An early Kurt Coleman penalty, after just two minutes, gave the Stormers a lead that they never relinquished. The chance came about from the impressive South African forwards pushing their Rebels counterparts backwards in contact, as they continued to do throughout.

Julian Huxley levelled the scores with a penalty of his own after fourteen minutes, following the Rebels’ best period of the game. A series of scrums in attacking territory promised much, but eventually the home side had to settle for just the three points.

The Rebels were left to regret not taking their early chance when Bryan Habana sprinted through for the game’s first try on seventeen minutes. Following a solid Stormers scrum 10-metres from the Rebels line, the ball was whisked quickly to the onrushing Habana and the quicksilver former world player of the year had too much pace and power for the Rebels midfield and he dashed over the line.

Coleman slotted over the conversion and two further penalties later in the half as the Stormers took a firm grip on proceedings.

The halftime score of 3-16 could have been better for the Rebels but Nick Phipps’ blindside dart following a shortened lineout was curtailed just before the line.

The second half resumed in the same disjointed manner as the first ended. Scrums were continually reset and play often slowed to a crawl as the Stormers dictated terms.

The away side’s strength was rewarded 13 minutes into the half as Coleman, outstanding all evening at five-eighth, scored the try a period of persistent attacking pressure merited. After pounding the Rebels line for a series of phases, play was spread wide to the right, where Coleman took a sharp step inside to claim the five points. Two more points were gained from Coleman’s boot.

If that score almost sealed the result, the Stormers’ third try, four minutes later, certainly did. Jean de Villiers burst through the midfield and his break created the opportunity for Jaque Fourie to sprint into the left corner. Coleman’s only blemish for the night left the score at 3-28 with just a quarter of the game remaining.

The Rebels brought on the experience of Adam Freier, Sam Cordingley and Greg Somerville in an attempt to rescue something from the contest, but it was to no avail.

There was even time for the South Africans to cross twice more and add some gloss to the scoreboard. With less than five minutes to go, Nick Koster earned a valuable bonus-point before Jean de Villiers put an emphatic seal on the Stormers’ Australian tour.

The defeat leaves the Rebels in bottom place in the Australian conference and the overall ladder, while the Stormers are now almost assured of a place in the finals, with two rounds to go.

The Rebels travel to Canberra next week before retuning to AAMI Park in the final round of their debut season against the Western Force.

Melbourne Rebels

1. Nic Henderson, 2. Ged Robinson, 3. Laurie Weeks, 4. Alister Campbell 5. Hugh Pyle, 6. Jarrod Saffy, 7. Michael Lipman, 8. Gareth Delve (vc), 9. Nick Phipps, 10. Julian Huxley, 11. Cooper Vuna, 12. Stirling Mortlock (c), 13. Mark Gerrard, 14. Lachlan Mitchell, 15. Richard Kingi

Reserves: 16. Adam Freier, 17. Greg Somerville, 18. Kevin O’Neill, 19. Tim Davidson, 20. Sam Cordingley, 21. Peter Betham, 22. Afusipa Taumoepeau

Head Coach: Rod Macqueen

Stormers

1. Wicus Blaauw, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 3. Brok Harris, 4. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Anton Van Zyl, 6. Schalk Burger (C), 7. Francois Louw, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 9. Ricky Januarie, 10. Kurt Coleman, 11. Bryan Habana, 12. Jean de Villiers, 13. Jaque Fourie, 14. Gio Aplon,15. Conrad Jantjes

Reserves: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. Frans Malherbe, 18. Andries Bekker, 19. Nick Koster, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Earl Rose, 22. Juan de Jongh

Head Coach: Allister Coetzee

Referee: Chris Pollock