That was the 2nd best game of the season for the Rebels and one of the worst from the Bulls because they had their worst defensive effort of the year.
Because of defensive issues it wasn't a great game, but it was an exciting game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
As an Aussie I especially enjoyed the improvement in the Rebels attack. It was so because the ball often was passed close to the tackle line, which meant that when a receiver of a pass had aimed himself near a gap he made metres when he caught the pill. Sometimes I think it's best to pass not to a player but to a gap on your side of the tackle line and hope your mate is there to catch it. It worked for Bernie. Just kidding, but you know what I mean.
Was good to see young lock Neville start in his first Super game and run down one of the Bulls backs early on. That's pretty agile for 202cms and 120kgs. This is only his 4th year of rugby; so he has missed a few things in his rugby education such as taking restarts and running low like Sharpie, but it was a good start.
He'd give some of the backowers a run for their money over 40 metres.
Beale played well at flyhalf. I think he will do as a stop gap for the Wallabies because he will have a bit more class outside him and won't try to run so much. There's only so many circles you can run around before defenders get the idea that you are a one man band. If he is to stay in the position at the Rebels he needs a runner shooting up next to him on most occasions to get the most out of him there, and ideally another offering himself on the other side. Then he can fix opponents to be in places they don't want to be.
Last night he was just the guy to do the flat passing that I talked about above. He's good at it: not as good as Quade but very good, especially off his right hand. It meant that there was danger for defenders as soon as the support got the ball. Before Beale, the Rebels, like the Tahs, were doing moves too far away from the enemy. Like pulling faces before a fight, it didn't signify much.
Another thing that KB (Kurtley Beale) has to learn from QC (Quade Cooper) is to pass the ball chest on to defenders which makes him harder to read. He also has to loop more as he did incessantly at school when he surprised defenders, even the 10th time in a game.
I thought that the Rebels ruck attack was very good and that it surprised the Bulls a bit.
The Bulls were impressive in their kicking game: they made the ping pong, attacking ping pong, with Basson and others contending for a lot of their kicks. Their restart kicks were nearly all contestable whereas those of the Rebels, were 5-10 metres too long, just like their ping pong kicks. Also the Bulls' mauls were mostly very good compared to the Rebels amateur hour efforts.
I though that Stander had a terrific match as did scrummie Hougaard, particularly when the Rebels had the ball. Steyn was like old Naas: just playing from the back pocket like a sniper though he gave a bit of cheek on the run last night as well. On the other hand I didn't notice Spies until the interview at the end of the game; not really.
But geez - the Bulls would not have been happy with their defence. I'd hate to be protected by those fellows in the laager.
.