Rebels rebound to thump Canes
25 Mar 2011
RYAN VREDE watched the Rebels romp to an emphatic 42-25 victory over the Hurricanes in Melbourne.
You would have been forgiven for switching channels 18 minutes into the match, convinced that at 17-0 the Hurricanes were en route to a vital away win. But few teams do spectacular capitulations quite like the Canes, and after a first quarter that promised much, they absolutely fell to pieces.
Credit must go to the Rebels for not surrendering meekly when most expected them to. They displayed tactical intelligence that they haven’t to date, were precise in most things they did on attack and remedied defensive failings mid-game, never an easy thing to do. They made the Canes look ordinary, and this performance suggest they’re starting to find the synergy that will make them difficult to beat going forward.
Canes scrumhalf Chris Eaton opened the scoring in the fourth minute and they gifted their next two tries through defence of a schoolboy variety – Lachlan Mitchell and Alister Campbell falling off straight up hits in the build-up to Victor Vito and Daniel Kirkpatrick’s tries.
Notwithstanding the Rebels’ charitable defence (they missed 14 tackles in the first 18 minutes), the Canes’ attack featured patient phase play, with an emphasis on dominating the collisions. However, having established a commanding lead, they became complacent and their play got loose. That veer away from the relative structure that had troubled the Rebels would ultimately be terminal to their cause.
The Rebels – led by the dynamic and irrepressible Jarrod Saffy – improved their defence as the match wore on and launched an effective assault on the Canes at ruck time. This eased their defensive task, and with some of that pressure alleviated, they could shift their focus to chipping away at the deficit.
They controlled the ball superbly through phases, denying the Canes any opportunity to stifle their attacking flow. Rodney Blake set the rebound mission into motion, before Alister Campbell and Michael Lipman swung the momentum in their team’s favour. Danny Cipriani’s 45m penalty just before the break levelled the scores at 20-all.
The directive to the Rebels would undoubtedly have been to continue to starve the Canes of possession, but even their coaches wouldn’t have predicted the 20-minute blitz that ensued after the restart. Campbell grabbed his second and the best attacking manoeuvre of the match culminated in Cooper Vuna bulldozing Cory Jane. The big winger then turned provider, creating a try for Nick Phipps through a powerful and pacey run up the wing.
Dan Coles scored a late try to bank the point for four tries, but that was scant consolation for the Canes. They have massive improvements to make. The Rebels deserve to celebrate lavishly tonight. They were outstanding.
1,064 Comments
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26 Mar 2011, 15:08 pm
@cab(cab)-1048:
Prepared to vrek for a buuny rabbit or dassies or other hassies but pick up and F1 rifle to protect him and his controller against the innocent people of the Caprivi?
26 Mar 2011, 15:11 pm
ET you so far out your comfort zone or out your area of expertise you seriously inconsequential in this so called one sided debate, cab is already bordering on a feeble waste of time space and energy, but you my poor innocuous feeble pathetic fool are absolutely without a doubt none whatsoever of my concern, not even a meager remotely condescending concern, you are welcome to any feeble inconsequential consideration or opinion, really whatever you happen to think or grate around that garbled wobbly woesie mind of yours, please be my guest, it has not even a slightest feeble repercussion in my thought process, not even a whisker of a consequence, so go ahead, wobble or woes all you like, your emptiness is your own concern, not in the slightest is it mine.
And for that matter neither is cabs, as always the poor sod is precisely on his own, g’bye
Out to go watch some rugby.
26 Mar 2011, 15:13 pm
ah its alright o great one, you’ll just have to lower yourself again.
i also gotta go, i think the lamb just called out to me it so raw.
26 Mar 2011, 15:14 pm
Dan the man Vettori
youngest player EVER to take 100 Test wickets aged 21yrs.
Even on 1 leg, he was too good for your ‘man-for-man stronger batting’ lineup.
26 Mar 2011, 15:18 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-1050:
And most other things as well but he can have the dutchie game though for some pleasure.
BP you are correct about Vettori, spot on.
26 Mar 2011, 15:30 pm
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-995:
stop talking sh*t
for starters, Aus were favourites in the SA RWC of ’95, the ABs were 4th/5th favourites.
26 Mar 2011, 15:35 pm
@ET.(ET.)-1055:
Its not me thats right but the record books sure are.
26 Mar 2011, 15:51 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-1052:
Only in your realm of questionable ‘deity’ where you do not know whats happening in your mal-affected ‘brain’ stimulated by unpure molecules you do not even know the structure nor the source nor affects off.
Just give the call for facts as evidence of claims and answer the searching questions of your MORALITY just honestly(but you cannot do that so dream on ).
Have you noted already that, that child-like babble of yours which only you follow(cannot claim you understand it) , appears at certain times as you go on a non-stop spiel about nothing for nothing to mostly only a higly amused stoker and other wide-mouthhed gapers?
I have no intention of imparting logic against irrationalities of a mad man across the watersbut would hope that it would merely stop as you bastardise ‘science’ for the unknowing only and never the knowing.
26 Mar 2011, 15:55 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-1057:
Sure but you search and interpret those records smartly while others do none of those two things even, as they merrily and blissfully rant on about their ‘heads’ nonsense presenting it as real sense with disdain for truth..
26 Mar 2011, 19:42 pm
@ET.(ET.)-1044:
Mmm… not such a good guess
How about man-child
26 Mar 2011, 21:15 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-1056: No, they weren’t. The ABs were the ODDS-ON favourites with the bookies to win it.
26 Mar 2011, 22:56 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-1061:
Australia.
The ABs most recent Series prior to RWC’95 was the 0-2 HOME loss to France.
The theory behind the poisoning scandal was based on the relatively long odds of the ABs pre-tournament and the immediate re-calculation once their form during the tournament became apparent.
Thats one theory.
27 Mar 2011, 05:22 am
One really has to chuckle at the world of blogging particularly this one…
Where else in the world can a ‘two-bit builder’ in backwards old Afrique reckon he is the Yoda of all eternal knowledge tikking away on his mobile phone…
I mean really!
28 Mar 2011, 06:58 am
Some one said above that this wasnt a choke, you were simply outplayed….. IM sorry but 120/2 needing 100 to win at 4,5 an over against NEW ZEALAND and getting bowled out 49 runs short is a sensational choke. Us kiwi’s had stopped the flow of beer and were getting into bed risigned to the loss when it all started happening.
Major CHOKE.
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