REBELS v CHIEFS Round 12

[Set piece magic]

I just think the maul rule is abused by teams because they know they will get the ball ala Ireland 2011. Doesn't reward the good rugby. That's not to say the chiefs aren't awesome and one of my favourite sides in the comp, but it would have been better if they won with a bone crunching tackle or try saver / pilfer rather than the crappy maul held up rule.

 

[kronic]

Shit game by us, we didn't deserve to win.

Beale can still f**k off, I don't care if he does a front flip over the defensive line next week.

O'Connor couldn't kick a coke can to save himself.

Loose forwards were solid, same for Pyle and Neville.

 

[p.Tah]

Really enjoyed the game, great atmosphere. My AFL mate thoroughly enjoyed it too.

 

[Bairdy]

Such an entertaining match from a neutral's point of view.
Some of the TMO's decision were dubious to say the least e.g. the lead up to the disallowed Anscombe try, and no doubt the citing commissioner will have a closer look at the Retallick and Cane incidents.
Very open game, and it's clear that if the Rebels can make all, or most of their tackles stick, and just work harder to keep opposition from scoring, the results will come.
Hugh Pyle is the unofficial heart and soul of the Rebels; should be captain.
Not convinced that JOC (James O'Connor) is a solid enough flyhalf; needs space in the centres or ranging out wide.

 

[swingpass]

great game, to be there.
the rebels played fantastic rugby at times and really gave a red hot go, the chiefs showed why they won last year, just lethal with the ball in hand and good defence,
live, i thought the refereeing appalling, chiefs players taking up space at the ruck all the time and rarely penalised, the use of the TMO a joke, and the retallick "forearm", that was just pathetic and gutless from the ref and TMO.
the rebs once again their own worst enemies, not clearing the 22 from restarts cost 2 tries and the 2 early turnovers in attack resulting in tries also.

well, at least we didn't give up a lead tonight

 

[Quick Hands]

JOC (James O'Connor) and KB (Kurtley Beale) is such a good combo.

With matching haircuts.

 

[FiveStarStu]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

The Rebels have a talent for making the most inconsequential of mistakes cost them points and matches, and it happened tonight with the first minute howler and the charge-down try later in the match.

Nevertheless, they had a red hot go, and played the most entertaining rugby I've seen them produce for a while. The crowd was going nuts late in the game, they save that 'Rebelsss' chant for something special.

I hate the fact we didn't win again, but I love the fact that, for the first time in ages, the team just seemed to say 'f**k it', and threw everything they had at an opponent.

Along with a sizable contingent of both Rebels and Chiefs fans, I went to the race and clapped every one of them off. If they play with that attitude week in, week out, results will come.

 

[Tex]

KB (Kurtley Beale) and JOC (James O'Connor) are a great combo. It's a shame they've rarely played together with all the injuries and left hooks and what not.

Pyle was fantastic - that first try when he swapped hands was brilliant. Can Sidey actually pass? He threw a number of loopy slow balls that a #12 at this level really should be above.

Such a deflating end to a very entertaining match but I think the positives far outweighed the negatives.

 

[daz]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

The Rebels have a talent for making the most inconsequential of mistakes cost them points and matches, and it happened tonight with the first minute howler and the charge-down try later in the match.

Nevertheless, they had a red hot go, and played the most entertaining rugby I've seen them produce for a while. The crowd was going nuts late in the game, they save that 'Rebelsss' chant for something special.

I hate the fact we didn't win again, but I love the fact that, for the first time in ages, the team just seemed to say 'f**k it', and threw everything they had at an opponent.

Along with a sizable contingent of both Rebels and Chiefs fans, I went to the race and clapped every one of them off. If they play with that attitude week in, week out, results will come.

Yup. Could not agree more.

The last few minutes was about as excited I have been at a rugby game.

Silly errors, sure. But the fact is that right up to the death the Rebels kept having a crack and nearly stole the game from the reigning Super Champs.

Really proud of the boys tonight.

 

[daz]

Shit game by us, we didn't deserve to win.

Beale can still f**k off, I don't care if he does a front flip over the defensive line next week.

O'Connor couldn't kick a coke can to save himself.

Loose forwards were solid, same for Pyle and Neville.

Seriously, if you can't acknowledge or see the effort the boys put in tonight, my advice to you is go follow another team.

What kind of "supporter" are you?

 

[qwerty51]

I thought the Rebels did really well, but still they conceded 39 points at home, that's pretty disgraceful. I think that's where kronic is coming from.

 

[kronic]

Seriously, if you can't acknowledge or see the effort the boys put in tonight, my advice to you is go follow another team.

What kind of "supporter" are you?

Geez, get a load of Daz.

Clearly not a flog like your good self.

 

[kronic]

I thought the Rebels did really well, but still they conceded 39 points at home, that's pretty disgraceful. I think that's where kronic is coming from.

Plus the school boy errors.

 

[Elfster]

Missed the 1st half, but what I saw in the 2nd half I really enjoyed. Compared to the league game on an adjoining screen it was a much better spectacle. They may have let in too many points and there may be some issues in the side, but to an impartial observer the Rebels are a great side to watch.

And I don't think they are too far from getting the results their supporters want.

 

[Athilnaur]

First half was poor, again, lot of errors, some bad luck, at the game I suspected the ref was not helping, but watching a replay I was ok with him. Phipps had a great game around the park, and his service was better than last week. I thought Woodward was hard done by to come off, but well, Beale. Immediate ignition of team. Pyle, Higgers really stood up again, as usual JOC (James O'Connor) was doing an immense amount of work and to be frank without him and Higgers that game would have been a shocker. I can't decide if JOC (James O'Connor) is doing too much himself instead of directing play or if theres no one to direct. Maybe both.

Sidey looked to me to have lifted his game some but still has a long way to go. I honestly think he has a good potential, I hope Morty is taking him under his wing. English and Vuna did well. Neville I struggled to see much of, front row put in well. Saffy and Fuglistaller not as good as last week, the Chiefs marked them pretty hard. Not seen all of the replay yet to assess Jones, whos workrate never goes missing, but it looked to me like we improved a air bit with him on. Inman worked his butt off again.

Beale is electric, and I hope he stays as I think Rebels is a special opportunity with him, JOC (James O'Connor) and Higgers bringing on some very promising players.

Went home very happy, good job boys.

 

[swingpass]

i still haven't watched the replay and will hold off commenting further on the ref till i have, but like athilnaur, at the game i thought the refereeing poor and costly to the rebels at crucial times

 

[Braveheart81]

i still haven't watched the replay and will hold off commenting further on the ref till i have, but like athilnaur, at the game i thought the refereeing poor and costly to the rebels at crucial times

There was some crucial errors by the referee, mostly in terms of people stealing the ball when off their feet.

I thought Anscombe was unlucky not to get his fourth try. The ball was knocked out of Phipps hands and looked to go straight down. It wasn't obviously forward and should have been a try in my opinion.

All the comments about the TMO and the two Rebels tries that were reviewed for forward passes are incorrect in my opinion.

I thought both were close but fine.

In the first one, English throws the ball up over his head and it drifts forward before being caught by Higgers but I definitely thought he threw it backwards. The initial movement looks backward which is what counts.

The second one involved a very flat pass by JOC (James O'Connor). If you slow it right down though, JOC (James O'Connor) gets his hands a long way out in front of them and draws them back as he releases the ball. It was probably only a couple of degrees away from being completely flat but I thought the pass was fine. Clearly it travels forward before Beale caught it but that is irrelevant.

On the commentary, Brendan Cannon kept talking about the passes travelling forward. That is irrelevant.

I think the TMO made the right call to award these tries. Unless they can say it is obviously a forward pass, they should stick with the initial decision (which was not to call it up at the time).

 

[swingpass]

two other points from last night

the good one, english on the wing, played really well i thought, beat his man nearly every time (partly because ?masanga, was trying to kill him with a shoulder charge and not wrapping him up), offloaded well, controlled the ball when tackled and defended pretty strongly, despite a couple of times out of position and getting stepped by bundi arkee is no great crime imo

the bad is the kick off/restart plays. early this year playing out of the 22 by running wide early was effective because most (all?)teams usually play one or two at the most phases and then kick, no one was expecting the charge out of the 22 on foot. and it worked. last night the chiefs were sweating on it. the first time the ball was turned over, 11 million scrums later the chiefs scored. a second time anscombe kicked a penalty if i recall. the last time the rebels lost ground at each ensuing phase until JOC (James O'Connor)'s kicked was charged down. time for a rethink boys

 

[James Buchanan]

Pretty much agree with Athilnaur and Swingpass's assessments. I was particularly impressed with Tom English last night. He's probably played himself into another start on the wing with that performance. Higginbotham stood up again and Pyle was simply sublime; who has the presence of mind and ball skills to switch hands during a try scoring lunge? Amazing. I think Saffy still made an impact, but less than he did last week, still made some bustling runs including a great line break which lead to Higginbotham's try. That was especially important in the scheme of things because the Rebels were very much on the back foot. I would really like to see Jones out there though, he's too good a player to be leaving on the bench. Whether that means a Jones/Saffy/Higginbotham backrow, I am not sure.

Not sure about the Ref. Was very unimpressed with him at the game. Saw numerous occasions of what looked like chiefs players entering from the sides of breakdowns and others where they were killing the ball on the deck. Despite that, there was some dominant counter rucking by both sides I thought.

Despite the loss, that was a great game of rugby to watch. Crowd excitement was the highest its been all season. The chanting at the end was deafening. The non-rugby friends I sit with both commented on how much they enjoyed the game.

That and, it was very impressive to see the boys finally fighting out a game to the death. That would have to be probably the best upside for me. It was an 80 minute performance, even if they were substantially outclassed at times in that 80 minutes.

 

[qwerty51]

Yep I'll admit I was wrong on Tom, he looks able at this level.