Bruce Ross
Ken Catchpole (46)
I wrote up a review here: http://www.rebel-army.com/archives/2309
It wasn't all bad for the Rebels. Main thing to notice is that they played 4 distinct line-ups during the game, whereas the Chiefs played a more settled team for the duration.
Attack, when they got the ball, was a lot more calculated. You could tell some players have really done their homework in the off-season, Cooper Vuna especially. The forward pack did well, but three tries came off attacks from the Chiefs' rolling maul, which the team had not prepared for.
The ref was, to put it kindly, appallingly shit. Whatever penalties the Rebs got within kicking range, they chose to go for the lines to practice their lineouts (which, I would agree with HKT, need a tonne of work). If they went for goal it could have been 36-12.
There are definitely things that need work. Their one-on-one defence has improved, but as a line, they are still far too slow getting back when they turn over the ball. Every turn over got the Chiefs a guaranteed 10-15m because the Rebs weren't prepared. That, and I got that feeling that they'll still struggle to convert all of their attacking chances. They didn't play with the confidence to score (and in truth, maybe they weren't really trying to in this game) and if that lingers around then we are in strife.
In all, it's a trial. A disappointing result but hopefully Hill and co are smart enough to know what needs to happen against the Blues. I'll reserve judgement until I have a better idea of who the starting XV will be.
Thanks for taking the trouble to write the article, Stu, and for drawing our attention to it. The professional media prefer to wait for the night life action.