Rebels 2: Melbourne struggle in Canberra

Thank you to the Rebels media team for providing us with the match report.

The RaboDirect Rebels were given a masterclass in ball protection by the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday night, as the weight of the home side’s possession saw them break through some sloppy Melbourne defence for four first-half tries.

The Rebels tried to force their way back into the match on the rare occasions when the ball did come their way, but without the composure that comes from building sustained attacking momentum they entered a vicious cycle, turning the ball over through handling errors almost as soon as they had won it.

Captain Gareth Delve said his side’s performance was “very disappointing”.

“We just weren’t at the races. That first 30 minutes especially, we just didn’t get off the line and make our tackles”, said Delve.

“No excuses, tonight we just didn’t come out and implement what we’ve put in place”.

The Rebels looked unsettled from the very start of the match, with the Brumbies’ unyielding control of the ball frustrating the visitors. Unable to win back possession or prevent the home side’s relentless forward momentum, the Rebels repeatedly breached the offside line and were duly punished by referee Craig Joubert. Christian Lealiifano slotted two early penalty goals to give his side an early lead, before Danny Cipriani countered with a huge kick from 53m.

Unfortunately getting points on the board did nothing to calm the Rebels and bring back some structure, as the host’s first try of the night came soon after. The Brumbies flooded the midfield channel from a lineout deep in Rebels territory and centre Pat McCabe brushed off a tackle from his Wallaby team-mate James O’Connor to score under the posts for a 13-3 lead.

But while the Rebels were happy to try and rein in the deficit with an O’Connor penalty, the Brumbies were looking for greater rewards. After kicking for a lineout in the corner, the Canberra side struck again when flanker Michael Hooper broke through the disorganised Rebels’ defence from a rolling maul.

Another try followed just two minutes later, after a fantastic kick chase from the Brumbies won them back the ball with the Rebels in disarray. While the desperate scrambling defence stemmed the tide for a few moments, eventually lock Sam Fardy burrowed over from short distance.

Things got even worse for the Rebels when Delve was sin-binned 10 minutes before half-time, the captain ultimately paying the price for his side’s repeated breakdown and offside infringements. The Brumbies quickly capitalised on their numeric advantage, with their own skipper Ben Mowen benefitting from McCabe’s strong run and offload to score his team’s fourth just before the break.

The Brumbies were content to sit on their 30-6 lead for much of the second half, but while the Rebels continued to battle and did win some sustained possession, it seemed the harder they tried the less things went their way. Mistakes in the scrum and lineout were compounded by further handling errors, and although the Rebels defence seemed able to handle the more subdued Brumbies attacks, eventually another missed tackle gave Fardy his brace and his team their fifth and final score.