Thank you to our friends at Rebels Media Team for supplying the post and photo.
The RaboDirect Rebels survived a spirited second-half comeback from the Western Force to win 32-31 on a sunny afternoon in Perth, their fourth win of the season taking the Melbourne side to third place in the Australian conference for the first time.
After a superb opening period the Rebels were ahead by 26-15 at the break, with two tries to the outstanding Caderyn Neville helping his side secure a bonus point after just 40 minutes.
But the Force dominated the game after the restart, battling their way back to a 31-29 lead with just over five minutes left to play, before Kurtley Beale showed incredible composure to rescue the victory for the Rebels with a late penalty goal from the touchline.
“It was a very good performance in the first half, but that second half we’re pretty disappointed with,” said captain Gareth Delve.
“I think we lost a bit of front foot, and they did well at disrupting our set piece and from there they crept into it. Once they’ve got the bit between their teeth they’re a tough team.
“But five points on the road against a great team is not to be sniffed at.”
The Rebels started the match right where they left off against the Crusaders the week before, working the Force defence back and forth across the pitch for 13 well-controlled phases before Neville finally burst through to score his first Super Rugby try under the posts.
The Force were desperate for a strong start of their own in front of their home fans, but the Rebels’ defence was aggressive and repeatedly shut the hosts down to protect their early headstart. Eventually Melbourne crept offside in their eagerness however, and David Harvey chipped over the ensuing penalty to bring the score back to 7-3 after 15 minutes.
A great break from the Rebels down the right-hand side after the restart almost saw Mark Gerrard burst through to the line after his trademark dummy chip, but the points went to Delve after the ball was whizzed back across the field to the captain on the opposite flank.
The Force kept themselves in the running with a try following a series of quick drives by their strong forward pack, but Melbourne responded immediately with another score of their own. Regaining possession from the kick-off, the Rebels surged forward and when the ball reached Neville the big lock threw a crafty dummy and stepped inside for his second try of the afternoon.
Beale picked up his third conversion to give the Rebels a seemingly comfortable 21-8 lead, but a midfield linebreak from the Force soon after resulted in the home side’s second try.
Spurred back into action after their defensive lapse, the Rebels secured the bonus point when two bullet-like passes from Beale and Julian Huxley gave Cooper Vuna enough space to dive over for his third try of the season. Beale couldn’t convert from out wide, however, leaving the scoreline at 26-15 just before the half-time whistle.
Despite such a strong start however, the Rebels couldn’t prevent a determined Force side from taking a relentless grip on the match immediately after the break. Winger Alfie Mafi scythed through the Melbourne defence for an early converted try to bring the scoreline back to 26-22, before Brett Sheehan’s penalty closed the gap to a single point at 26-25.
As nerves saw both teams trade a series of penalties in desperate search of the win, eventually the Force got the upper hand when five-eighth Ben Seymour kicked what looked like the match winner with just a few minutes left to play.
But at 31-29 down, the Rebels finally began to find the same energy and structure they had shown in the first half, and were rewarded when the Force conceded a penalty at the scrum just five metres in from the touchline.
Despite a packed stadium willing him to push the testing kick wide, Beale steadied himself, stepped forward and effortlessly struck the ball between the posts to seal yet another narrow win for the Rebels over their great rivals.
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