Author: Mr Wobbly

An under-strength Melbourne Rebels have a tough assignment this week as they cross the Tasman to take on the red-hot Hurricanes in Wellington. The Rebels have just one win from five attempts against the Hurricanes. That win was the first clash between the two sides way back in 2011. Recent form and the home ground advantage would suggest that the Hurricanes are more than likely to stretch that record to five from six. Form [one_half last=”no”] Hurricanes In the first round of 2016 the Hurricanes were a shambles, losing to the Brumbies 52-10. As we all know, they put that…

The Melbourne Rising hosted Queensland Country at Harlequins Oval in Round Two of the National Rugby Championship. Both sides lost their first round matches and would not want to drop consecutive games in such a short season. A decent sized crowd had turned up and the fans were in for a treat with a number of Wallaby squad members returning for some extra game time. James Slipper and Rob Simmons played for the visitors while the Rising were bolstered with the inclusions of Toby Smith, James Hanson and Lopeti Timani. TGI Fridays pop-up shop were serving up wings and sliders…

It’s almost a case of last man standing for the Melbourne Rebels as they take on the challenge of one of Super Rugby’s toughest trips; crossing the Tasman to play the Crusaders in Christchurch. This will be the fifth time the two teams have played each other, their records stand at two wins each – one home and one away. The last time they played was in Round One of 2015 at AMI Stadium. On that occasion the Rebels celebrated their first (and only) win in New Zealand, defeating the Crusaders 20-10. That was the first time the Crusaders had…

Despite the fact that the Melbourne Rebels have an 11-3 winning record against the Western Force, the games are generally close and hard fought with most decided by less than seven points. The teams last met in Round One this season, the Rebels winning in Perth in a typically close fashion by 25-19. First Half The first scrum of the match is set after just one minute of play with the feed going to the Rebels. From side on, the scrum looks as flat as a billiard table… beautiful. The scrums would remain fairly even all night with neither side…

The Melbourne Rebels will look to consolidate their tenuous hold on top spot in the Australian Conference while the Blues will be wanting to inflict more pain to the already fragile Aussie psyche. At a glance, you might expect the Rebels to be firm favourites to take this one out. It is after all 4th on the ladder versus 12th, the top ranked Australian team (I do love the sound of that), against the lowest ranked Kiwi team. However, a close look at their respective season’s statistics shows that these two teams are very evenly matched. This match is the…

Both teams come into this match on the back of contrasting results and form. Last week, the Melbourne Rebels were out classed at home against the Wellington Hurricanes while the Cheetahs defeated the Sunwolves with the second largest winning margin in Super Rugby history. The Rebels desperately need to win this one if they are to stay in touch with the competition’s leaders. Pre-Match As is tradition on the ANZAC weekend, a moving and respectful observance was held before kick off to commemorate lives lost in battle and to show respect to those members of our armed forces currently serving…

This was a highly anticipated match between two teams with similar records this season, playing for the same wild card spot in the Australasian Top Five. Both teams had won four of their six matches but neither had beaten a team above them on the ladder. With their best start to a season in their history, are the Rebels serious finals contenders? Are the Hurricanes back to the form that took them all the way to last year’s final? THE MATCH Not for the first time this season, the Rebels were forced to make late changes to the starting side.…

Will the Sunwolves secure their first ever victory? Can the Rebels chalk up their third win of the season? These questions and more will be answered on Saturday afternoon as the Melbourne Rebels travel to Tokyo to take on the Sunwolves at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium. Kick off is at 3:15 Melbourne time, the referee will be Mike Frazer from New Zealand. [one_half last=”no”] Sunwolves Despite only having a three week preseason and losing both of their first two matches, to the Lions and Cheetahs respectively, the Sunwolves have already exceeded many people’s expectations. Coach Mark Hammet has, in…

The Melbourne Rebels ran in thirteen unanswered tries against a Samoan side that tried hard but were clearly out of their depth. Despite a few first choice players still missing the Rebels fielded a near full strength team captained for the first time by Sean McMahon. The Match The first half started with Adam Thomson forcing a penalty with his first action in a Rebels jersey. The ball was shifted quickly to the left wing for an unmarked Reece Hodge to score with his first touch of the footy. Mike Harris slotted the conversion to make the score 7-0 inside sixty seconds.…