Thank you to our friends at Melbourne Rebels Media Team for the following post by Pete Fairbairn.
For the first time in their three year history, the RaboDirect Rebels have got their season off to the perfect start, defeating the Western Force 30-23 in front of nearly 12,000 fans at AAMI Park.
Despite appearing to eradicate the issues in last week's trial, it was a familiar story for the Melbourne Rebels as they got off to a sluggish start as they did on so many occasions in 2012.
Starved of the ball for the opening ten minutes, the Rebels were under the pump directly from the kick-off when James O'Connor failed to find touch on the full and presented the Force with an opportunity to attack from the lineout, just 10 metres out.
The hard-work that the Rebels had put into their defence in the off-season was on show right from the outset as they repelled eight phases on their own goal line, but Kurtley Beale was caught offside and presented Force debutant Kyle Godwin with the opportunity to score the first points of the season.
Godwin missed with the kick, but didn't have to wait much longer to get on the scoresheet, knocking one over from straight in front after Ged Robinson was penalised for being off his feet.
The Rebels were putting the Force under plenty of pressure at set-piece time, stealing two lineouts from the back as the Force looked to convert their dominance into points, but when the Rebels did have the ball they were unable to hold onto it for long enough to make it count.
The Force extended their lead when Godwin knocked over a second penalty goal after Scott Higginbotham was sent to the bin, and Alfi Mafi scored the first try of the competition for 2013 just before the half hour mark, as the Force opened up an 11-0 lead.
Scott Fuglistaller and Gareth Delve were doing plenty of grunt work as the Rebels tried to accommodate for the loss of Higginbotham for ten minutes, and Robinson was looking dangerous when he carried the ball.
And it was Robinson who opened the scoring for the Rebels. With Higginbotham back on the field, the Rebels took advantage of a five metre scrum with a big push from the forwards resulting in Robinson planting it down, with O'Connor comfortably adding the extras. A penalty in front just before half-time reduced the deficit to one point as the teams went in at the break with plenty to discuss.
Right from the re-start, the Force looked to pile the pressure on again. Flyhalf Sam Christie broke almost immediately after the restart and only a fantastic tackle from Luke Jones kept him from regaining the lead instantly. Nick Phipps did well to collect a grubber kick, but was held up in goal and the Rebels did exceptionally well to defend on their own line and get the ball clear.
But after 46 minutes, it was the Rebels who took the lead. Great work from Fuglistaller to drive the Force away at the breakdown led to a turnover, and with Phipps delivering a lightning quick ball out wide, Richard Kingi was able to draw three defenders before miraculously offloading to Hugh Pyle to run over unopposed and score, with O'Connor easily adding the extras.
The yo-yo game continued though, with the Force hitting back moments later as Mafi grabbed his second from a set piece at the scrum. The scrum had been awarded after Beale’s quick pass to release Higginbotham was deemed forward.
O'Connor was able to add three points from just 20 metres out after Angus Cottrell was caught offside, with the Rebels holding onto a 20-16 lead until just before the hour mark when their cause was helped by Force flanker Chris Alcock being shown a yellow card for using his forearm.
Rebel pressure almost paid off immediately following Alcock's dismissal, as a big drive forward was only thwarted by the Force's dogged and desperate defence as they were held up over the line, and then Pyle was tackled just one metre short of the line after the scrum.
Tensions were building, with scrumhalf Alby Mathewson yellow carded as well and the Rebels were in a prime position to capitalise on their two-man advantage. They did just that, a fantastic cut-out pass from O'Connor releasing Kingi to complete a swan dive into the right-hand corner and when the fullback added the extras from the touchline, the Rebels had established a double figure lead for the first time all night and now had just a touch over fifteen minutes to push for a fourth try and subsequent bonus point.
The Force were keen to show that they weren't done yet, and the advantage was pulled back after they knocked on in good position, with Alcock now back on the field. And their pressure eventually paid off, despite stoic defending from the Rebels, with Richard Brown crashing over in front and Godwin adding the points; a lead of just 4 points set up a tense final ten minutes.
Jarrod Saffy replaced the brilliant Fuglistaller and instantly showed Rebels' fans just what they had missed during his long injury layoff, bringing fresh aggression and physicality to the contest. He was joined on the field by Paul Alo-Emile and Cadeyrn Neville as the Rebels looked to inject some fresh legs and kill off the Force.
They opted to extend their advantage when the Force were penalised for not rolling away, with O'Connor making t 30-23 after slotting truly from 30 metres out.
As the Force threw everything at the Rebels, those fresh legs played a massive part, with Alo-Emile getting low and driving the Force back as they got within range.
The hooter went with the Force in possession, but they knocked it on in what turned out to be their final surge, with the Rebels holding on to win by seven points.
Speaking after the game, Rebels coach Damien Hill said that while he wasn't pleased by the slow start, he never lost faith that the Rebels would win the game.
"In the first twenty minutes, we chose not to treasure possession and gave away opportunities," Hill said.
"Our discipline started to go, and fatigue began to set in.
"In the second half, while we weren't as clinical as we would have liked, it was definitely better and we were able to put points on the board."
Hill was also delighted with some of the players who were able to complete the full 80 minutes.
"For Laurie Weeks and James O'Connor, that was their first 80 minutes in a long time; for James, in eight months, which is a tremendous effort that shouldn't go unnoticed. Kurtley Beale played 43 weeks of rugby straight last year, but that was his first 80 of the year and he managed to get through really well."
The Rebels have precious time to reflect on their victory before they host the Brumbies next Friday at AAMI Park at 7:40pm.
Pete Fairbairn is the Senior Rebels Writer and was at AAMI Park for the Rebels’ first Super Rugby game of the season, against the Western Force.
No comments:
Post a Comment