The Rebels closed their best season with a loss against the Western Force; the Superman jersey they wore didn’t help the players to go “Up, up and away”.
The Match
In a game that resembled the spectacular heights of a Saffer Currie Cup encounter between the Griquas and the Blue Bulls, the Rebels and Force farewelled their followers with a less than impressive game.
Few will remember it except as being the last match for Scott Higginbotham, Sam Wykes and Pat Leafa for their clubs.
First Half
A gritty first half delivered no tries, hard contacts and a lot of yawning to the faithful at AAMI Park.
Neither team was able to break the defensive lines and the only points came from the boot of Holmes and Harris thank to lazy penalties incurred by both forward packs.
The backs were rarely in play, with the only exception of a Cam Crawford “try”which was denied by referee Andrew Lees. He disappointed the home crowd when he saw an obstruction in the midfield at the start of series of eight passes.
Force fans were disappointed also after Dane Haylett-Petty burst through just before half-time, and backhanded a pass to prop Chris Heiberg who went over the chalk, but was adjudged to be held up by Sam Jeffries.
Bryce Hegarty (R) leaves hurt
There was a key injury break at the 21st minute when both Lopeti Timani and Bryce Hegarty of the Rebels had to retire after they received head-knocks.
Half-time score: Rebels 3 – Force 6
Dane Haylett-Petty – tackled here by the Rebels
Second half
The Rebels started the second stanza of the game with more determination, but after more than ten minutes of pressure in their opponents’ 22, they had to settle for a Mike Harris penalty to tie the game at 6-6.
The match failed to fire up and the two teams were still locking horns after a series of dubious calls when the Rebels got the ball to the Force’s goal line. Disaster struck the home team when Marcel Brache intercepted a Nic Stirzaker pass five meters out from his line, on the run, and passed on his 22 to Luke Morahan backing up.
Morahan scored at the other end of the field—it was the first try of the game after 65 minutes of nothing. It was also a twelve-point turnaround, at least, but the Force didn’t care; they led 13-6.
Trailing unluckily by 7, Telusa Veainu scored for the Rebels in the corner with six minutes to go. Mike Harris wasn’t able to slot the difficult conversion. Force 13-11.
The game ended with the Rebels throwing the kitchen sink to the Force, but the visitors were able to hold on for their third win of the season.
Final score: Rebels 11 – Force 13
Marcel Brache – his intercept changed the game
The Wrap Up
The Rebels have finished their best season in their five-year history with seven wins and nine losses, but came short of breaking even because they played one of their worst games of the season.
Departing captain Scott Higginbotham will be missed by the faithful of AAMI Park, as well as Paul Alo-Emile, Luke Burgess and Cadeyrn Neville—the last two not being on the pitch tonight.
Scott Higginbotham – emotional farewell
On the other side the Force closed their tenth Super Rugby season with an unimpressive win, but it was not enough to save them from their second wooden spoon – the first earned in their inaugural season.
Injuries to captain Matt Hodgson, a lack of quality depth and the absence of a play-making flyhalf are to blame for the lacklustre 2015. In the off-season the Force should work on recruitment and stability, starting from the upcoming NRC season, to build a more cohesive group. They should also acquire some game-breakers .
The Interviews
At the end of the match Rebels’ coach McGahan and captain Higginbotham were visibly unhappy about the result, both reflecting on the lost opportunities in attack and praising the Force for their gritty defence.
Michael Foley was eager to praise his players for the courage and the solid defence. He and his captain were honest to admit that some calls went in their favour and had words of praise for their opponents.
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McGahan
“Really, really poor performance tonight, attack, backs, organisation in attack, turn overs. Scrum was very solid, line-out was 100%, defense was solid.
“The Force was very good in defence,” he continued”, very organised, they got a 99 meter intercept try, that was the turn over.”
“We let ourselves down, as a club we need to get better”
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[one_half last=”yes”]Foley
“A lot of guts from the team, we came against a team on a roll, they had a season similar to ours last year, they wanted to make their home a fortress, it was a very important game for them, and I’m very proud of my guys because it has been a very tough year on a back of a very good one”.
“We thought every minute and we come home with a win, I’m very pleased”.[/one_half]
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The Game Changer
In a game with few heights Marcel Brache’s intercept was the decisive point of the game.
The Force were defending their goal line and looked close to succumbing when the US-born South African got the ball that changed the game.
And the backing up of Luke Morahan turned the intercept into points.
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The G&GR MOTM
With few players standing out in a gritty game, my man of the match is Matt Hodgson.
The Force captain had a fine game for the visitors: he was key in holding off the attacks and organising his men in defence. His workload around the ruck was excellent and it was mainly due to him that the Rebels were not able to break the Force defensive lines for the entire first half.
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Wallaby watch
Cheika won’t be putting too many more on his list after tonight’s game. The ones already on it—McMahon, Higginbotham for the Rebels and Hodgson for the Force—were some of the best players on the park.
Stirzaker and Debreczeni have been talked about but it is doubtful if they will be chosen this year on tonight’s performance.
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The Details
Score & Scorers
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Rebels 11 (3)
Try: Telusa Veainu 72′
Penalties: Mike Harris 15′, 53′ – 2/4
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Force 13 (6)
Try: Luke Morahan 65′
Conversion: Zac Holmes 1/1
Penalties: Zac Holmes 2′, 18′
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Cards & citings
none
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Crowd
9653 (few of them awake during the first half)
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