Lions maul the Rebels

The Rebels have suffered another gut-wrenching defeat, this time at the hands of the Lions. 

Whilst the Rebels were competitive in the first half, the Lions capitalised on their mistakes to run away with a 47-10 win.  The Lions continue their good Australian tour record, while the Rebels sink to another defeat against an international team.

The match

Another week, another player withdraws from the match due to injury.  This time, Colby Fainga’a pulled up sore in the warm up; he was replaced by Will Miller, with u20s Lock Esei Haangana coming onto the bench.

The match started with Lions on attack, trying to find gaps in the Rebels defence.  To their credit, the Rebels kept a good structure and yielded little ground.  A highlight was the try-saving cover tackle from Markie Koroibete, running from his own wing to dump Courtnall Skosan into touch.

Marike Koroibete’s tackle was a small highlight on an otherwise bleak day for the Rebels.

Try as they might, the pressure from the Lions would soon yield points.  Hot on attack Kwagga Smith soon found a gap, crashing under the posts for a try.  Five minutes later, Ross Cronjé ran from the scrum base, danced past two players, and scored his own try.

The Rebels soon hit back, with a try to Tom English.  Deep on attack and with few options, Meehan dabbed a cheeky little kick past two defenders, and into the waiting arms of English.

Right up until halftime, the Rebels looked dangerous on attack and could have scored on a few occasions.  Again, some poor execution and handling gifted the ball back to the Lions.  Right before half time, Courtnall Skosan burned two defenders out wide and scored a brilliant try.

Half time score, 19 – 7 to the Lions.

Aside from a penalty kick to Reece Hodge, which landed on the roof of AAMI Park, nothing went terribly well for the Rebels in the second half.  You could sense the Lions were about to open up, and open up they did.

Opening the second half try fest was Sylvian Mahuza, who ran 70 metres, and beat four defenders, to score under the sticks.  Even with my Rebel shades on, I had to applaud this one.

The try from Courtnall Skosan was something to behold.

Tries Volmink (64min), a penalty try (61), and a Whiteley on the siren, added up to a bad day on the scoreboard. The penalty try came from Culum Retallick; he had only been on for 30sec when he was pinged for pulling down the maul.  It also cost young Culum ten minutes in the bin.

When the siren sounded, the pounding was over.  Final scores 47 – 10 to the Lions.

Musings of a (frustrated) Rebels fan

I may get a little self-indulgent, so bear with me.

Granted, there is a lot going on in Australian right now.  I can’t imagine the pressure Rebels or Force players are going through, and frankly, I don’t want to.  It looks painful, and I’d find it near impossible to do my job properly.  Great job, ARU!

Despite this pressure, I lost count of all the coach killer moments out there tonight.  Fair enough, the defensive effort in the first half was fantastic.  Koroibete’s cover tackle, brilliant!  But, when you get yourself into a good position, and then cough up the ball with poor handling (passing or catching), it makes you just want to pull your hair out.  And, I don’t have much left to pull out.  You would think at a time where your team might be cut, you’d want to cut this out of the game.

I think the post-match interview with Tony McGahan summed up the problems nicely for me.

Tony sets the tone (pun intended) immediately in his first response; we tried really hard, but we were second best in all departments.  That’s a fairly blunt, but honest assessment of the performance by the Rebels today.  And probably, for the last few matches.

Skip to 1:35 on how we can solve the problem.

Tony’s view: better coaching, and the players to execute the basic skills.  Ouch, that burns.

While we’re not fielding our best team at present, with some 20 bodies in team rehab, we need to work with the cattle we have.  So, this brings Tony’s first point into play – coaching.

Many have commented on the coaching, or lack thereof, as a reason why we’re performing badly.  Again, it can’t be easy to coach with SANZAAR/ARU guillotine above your neck, but good coaches must always find a way to break through this adversity.

The players clearly have the skills, but the confidence is lacking.  Tony must take some leadership, instil that much-needed belief in his players, and get them playing good football.  Otherwise, I’ll be completely bald by round 14.

Unity from our Team is key here.

It’s not all bad; there are moments of brilliance that give me hope.  Mafi was breakdown machine today and even played through painful injury.  Koroibete and Naivalu are providing options out wide and making solid metres.  English looks the goods in 13, and Hodge is looking sharp for the June test series.

I must give a shout out to the new crop of players.  Will Miller and Hugh Sinclair, who aren’t even contracted players, looked quite solid around the park today.  And a big shout out to another debutant in u20s Lock Esei Haangana.  Another homegrown talent, who has come up through the Rebels elite pathways, and captained the Rebels under 20 side this year.  I think this trio can have a big future in Super Rugby, hopefully in Melbourne.

I think this trio can have a big future in Super Rugby, hopefully in Melbourne.

Check out the smile on Esri’s face in his post-match interview.  Hopefully, that smile is infectious amongst the playing group.

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The Game Changer

For me, it was the Sylvian Mahuza try just after the break. The Rebels had a small window after the break to claw back the lead, but Mahuza managed to shut down that opportunity with a brilliance solo effort. You could see the homes of players and fans sink as he scored under the sticks.

Special mention to the Koroibete cover tackle. If the Rebels won, that would have been the game changer.

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The G&GR MOTM

It was a tough pick, but Courtnall Skosan had a blinder on the wing. With his lightning speed, he was dangerous all day with ball in hand. He scored a brilliant individual try and would have another if it wasn’t for the cover tackle of Koroibete.

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Wallaby Watch

Koroibete both defended well (9 tackles) and attached (48 metres, 2 defenders beaten, and 1 clean break). Hodge kicked well, both for points and in general play, which gives Cheika another kicking option.  His penalty kick shook up a few seagulls nested on top of the south stand.

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The Details

Score & Scorers

Kings 44

Tries: Smith, Cronjé, Skosan, Mahuza, Penalty Try, Volmink, Whiteley

Conversions: Jantjies 5

Rebels 10

Try: English

Conversion: Hodge

Penalties: Hodge