The Waikato Chiefs have slapped the Melbourne Rebels around at home, cruising to a 36-15 victory after a dominant first-half performance.
The Match
The trick to watching the Rebels without wanting to glass yourself is to understand that they really just aren’t very good. Early season results flattered to deceive in this regard, overly inflating the hopes of a fanbase who really should know better at this point. That winning record glossed over the fact that the wins had come against the collection might of the Force (2-9), the Dick Graham-led Reds (unmentionable), the Sunwolves (1-9), the Waratahs (6-5), and the Cheetahs (3-8.)
As the schedule is stiffened up, and they began to face teams somewhat more talented than the competitions dregs, the flaws, all of which were on display this evening, began to show.
They try hard, their discipline is outstanding, they’re not good at rugby. The attack is slow and ponderous, the defence struggles to cope with anything resembling pace, the set-piece is a lottery, and the kicking game is best not talked about.
The Chiefs barely got out of second gear for most of the match, their bonus point win built off the back of a dominant opening stanza that saw them score four tries in the opening 25 minutes. They came out with a bit of a bang, some easy stepping in the third minute let centre Seta Tamainvalu walk past the new Rebels centre pairing of Reece Hodge and Mitch Inman to open proceedings.
Seta Tamainvalu setting up for the first Try of the match.
It didn’t get much better from there. A sweet as bro grubber from Cruden 10 minutes later sent hooker Nathan Harris in the corner, had the home town boys up 12-3.
By the 30 minute mark, a rout was well and truly on the table. Wing Toni Pulu crossed after a nice inside ball from the lively scrumhalf Brad Weber, before Cruden got into the action for himself. A 26-3 lead was a more than fair reflection of the Chiefs dominance to that point.
Following Sean McMahon, who imposed himself on the game through sheer force of will, the Rebels stemmed the bleeding. They took control of the 10 minutes before half-time, turning down three kickable penalty attempts in favor of attacking lineout drives. They came up empty handed, a Tom English try denied on halftime due to a forward pass from Jack Debreczeni.
The second half was largely a dull, sloppy, arm wrestle. The Rebels briefly carried their momentum over from the end of the first half, Mike Harris running a nice line to cross in the 45th.
With 10 minutes to go, Cruden got the Chiefs back on the board. His penalty taking the score to 29-10, a lead comfortably out of reach for the overmatched Rebels. A long, looping, ball from emerging star Damien McKenzie gave Andrew Horrell his first try of the season. With a couple of minutes left, Harris broke the Chiefs line and sent Hodge away for his seventh try of the year – tying the club record originally set by Cooper Vuna – providing a glimmer of scoreboard respectability.
Mikey Mike scored a Try and set up another.
It was an ugly, dispiriting, performance from the Rebels. The first half an hour was as bad as anything they’ve dished up in a while. A lot of thinking needs to be done at AAMI Park, because whatever they’re doing now isn’t working. They’re a mid-table side, totally unable to deal with the pace and power of Super Rugby’s big dogs, but capable of keeping the cellar-dwellers in their place. People can say things have improved in 2016, but it’s hard to see where.
[one_third last=”no”]
The Game Changer
The Fourth Try from the Chiefs, late in the first half, would ahve shut out any hope of a Rebels revival.[/one_third][one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
He’s limited, but Sam Cane had a magnificent defensive game.[/one_third][one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby watch
No one. Mike Harris? Sean McMahon? Maybe? None of the fringe players impressed. Toby Smith and James Hanson were disappointing, Nic Stirzaker is having a poor season.[/one_third]
The Details
Crowd: 19,073
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Chiefs: 36 (Tamanivalu, Harris, Pulu, Cruden, Horrell tries; Cruden 3, McKenzie 1 conversions; Cruden penalty)
[one_half last=”yes”]Rebels 15 (Harris, Hodge try; Harris 1/1 conversion; Harris 1 penalty)
Cards & citings
None
