The Brumbies have put together a scintillating first half display to defeat the Melbourne Rebels 37-6 in a five tries to nil display and put an end to their two match losing streak. The win also saw them go back to the top of the Australian conference under the watchful eye of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
It was a game where everything seemed to go right for the Brumbies whilst very little did for the visitors. The Rebels rolled into town with their ‘rockstar’ tag but left after what coach Damien Hill described as their worst performance of the season so far with numerous turnovers and discipline issues littered throughout the game.
The Brumbies opened the scoring with a penalty goal from Christian Lealiifano and were easing themselves into the match and working on the areas that had let them down in their previous two losses. They soon added to the early penalty with another to give a six point buffer after the opening 10 minutes. Rebels flyhalf Danny Cipriani replied with a booming 53 metre effort that sailed well over the crossbar to reduce the gap.
The Brumbies were then able to get on top after some mistakes by the visitors that allowed the home side to spend plenty of time in the opposition half. The first try was scored from Pat McCabe who looked to win his battle against James O’Connor on the night.
The home side had worked on their physicality at the breakdown during the week and this was evident in their game plan as they took it through the forwards and attempted to grind down the Rebels defense. Michael Hooper, who was making his return to the seven jersey, popped out of rolling maul to get his name on the try scorers sheet and just two minutes later was joined on the list by Scott Fardy who Jake White has admired since coming into the squad on an EPS contract.
The Rebels were always on the back foot and it looked like they weren’t ready to show up, unlike the small number of Rebel Army fans who tried valiantly to lift the spirits of their team, as well as those to their mouths as they watched on as part of a 14,000 strong crowd.
The Brumbies were venturing into unfamiliar waters as they knocked on the door of a four try bonus point before the half time break, which they hadn’t achieved since the corresponding fixture last year. As they Brumbies pressured the Rebels line, their captain Gareth Delve was yellow carded by referee Craig Joubert for repeated infringing by his side.
Brumbies Number 8 Fotu Auelua was denied what looked to be a try in his debut, but they wouldn’t be denied as captain Ben Mowen dived over to have the bonus point sewn up and a lead of 30-6 at the break.
The second half didn’t reach any great heights but the Rebels were finally able to enjoy a share of possession. Their backline trio of Cipriani, Beale and O’Connor were finally able to get some ball, but were always behind the advantage line and the Brumbies were able to absorb that pressure. They had their chances to cross the chalk, but were let down by poor execution as the game escaped them.
Man of the match Fardy crossed for his second of the night with around 13 minutes remaining to give his side some much needed confidence before they head to South Africa to take on the Bulls and Lions, whilst the Rebels will need to find some form quickly before they take on the Waratahs in Sydney next weekend.
Brumbies 37 – Fardy 2, McCabe, Mowen, Hooper tries; Lealiifano 3 cons, 2 pens def Rebels 6 – Cipriani pen, O’Connor pen
