The Rebels dominated the opening 50 minutes and held on to win 21-17, taking out the Weary Dunlop Shield in Sydney for the very first time.
Photos courtesy of Keith McInnes photography.
The Match
Both sides had chances early, with the Waratahs getting closest to scoring in the first fifteen minutes. They traded penalties, and at 3-3 the game was evenly poised. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, with the Rebels scoring two quick tries thanks to some enterprising play. The first came courtesy of good forward build-up and patience from the visitors, ending in an easy score to Jack Debreczeni after a soft missed tackle by Angus Ta’avao.
The next was far more basic, with Lopeti Timani striding through some soft Waratah defence (that man Ta’avao again) and offloading to Toby Smith who crashed over under the posts. This was the Rebels at their best, and Nick Stirzaker had the team humming. Unfortunately his involvement in the game would be limited, going off with a concussion after about half an hour.
It would keep getting better from the Rebels, their defence standing up to every Waratah raid and their attack looking structured and composed. With their side on top they pressured Israel Folau at the back, winning a penalty and a YC to the Waratahs fullback after he was caught playing the ball illegally on the ground in an attempt to halt the Rebels attack. Debreczeni slotted the penalty and the Rebels had a healthy 18-3 lead, and would add another before half time to secure an 18 point lead for the Southerners.
The Waratahs troubles continued in the second stanza, with some sloppy handling giving the Rebels prime field position. Unfortunately for the visitors they couldn’t capitalise, and the Waratahs scored through Jack Dempsey after a wayward Melbourne lineout was snatched by Dave Dennis. Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley were playing good rugby, and you could feel the Waratahs starting to get into stride.
The home side kept putting themselves in scoring positions, but their handling let them down. We had drops from Carraro, Guildford, Folau, Phipps, and plenty more. The Rebels were defending with accuracy – Jordy Reid and Sean McMahon leading the line, and Adam Thomson making some great hits as well. But the Rebels couldn’t do much with what possession they had, and their fluency from the first half seemed a world away.
The Tahs broke through with ten minutes to go, with a Matt Lucas break being followed up by a well-executed cross kick from David Horwitz, which found Reece Robinson out wide. He offloaded to Matt Carraro who went in under the sticks to narrow the margin to just four points as we entered the Championship minutes.
The Rebels continued to defend vigorously, and the Waratahs skill continued to desert them at crucial times. As the clock wound down the Rebels found momentum, and pinned the Waratahs deep in their own half. Despite a late flutter thanks to a Will Skelton break, they couldn’t score again and the Rebels took out a hard-fought match.
Random Observations
The Rebels dominated in the first half, and in the end it was enough to get them home… just!! Their forward pack set a great foundation, and they capitalised on their chances really well. Now with a 4-2 record, they can set their sights on a maiden finals berth.
I love seeing Nick Stirzaker back out on the field, even if his playing time was limited today. He showed enough in his 30 minutes to reassure Michael Cheika that he can play a role in the Wallabies campaigns later in the year, and maybe get him to hold off on issuing that SOS to Will Genia.
When the Waratahs were at their peak in 2014, their dominance was built on their big ball-running forwards. They won the contact, and gave the backline space and momentum to operate. Where has this strength in contact gone? The Rebels big forwards won them the day- Reid, McMahon, Timani were head and shoulders above each and every one of the home forwards.
The bulk of the Waratahs mistakes were basics, which made it all the more frustrating. Simple dropped balls, bad passes, missed tackles. A return to the bad old days, even if they did nearly get out of jail in the end.
Bernard Foley looked assured at 10, but I would have loved to see him with the ball a bit more. At times the Waratah attack was directionless and slow.
Sean McMahon has to be in the Wallabies somewhere. I don’t know where. But he’s a beast. As is Michael Hooper, who was the only Waratah making big plays in the last 15 minutes.
When Jack Debreczeni is at his best he is lovely to watch. Behind a winning forward pack it’s poetry, and that boot is something else. But I thought he was, like Foley, too passive in the late stages. He needed to take a leaf out of Johnny Wilkinson’s book and used his healthy boot to keep the Tahs in their own 22.
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The Game Changer
When Nick Stirzaker went off after 30 minutes it took the wind out of the Rebels sails and let the Waratahs back into the game. He’s that good a player. With him on the Rebels could have won by 40.
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The G&GR MOTM
In a great Rebels effort, I’m giving it to the general, Sean McMahon. He dragged the team over the finish line, making plenty of big plays in attack and defence. Honourable mentions to Reid, Timani, Debreczeni, Foley, Hooper.
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Wallaby watch
Foley and Phipps looked solid at 9 and 10, but it was the Rebels Wallaby hopefuls in the forwards who impressed. Lopeti Timani, Jordy Reid and James Hanson all had good showings.
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The Details
Crowd: 20,542
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”] Rebels 21
Tries: Debreczeni, Smith
Conversions: Debreczeni
Penalties: Debreczeni 3 [/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”] Waratahs 17
Tries: Dempsey, Carraro
Conversions: Foley 2
Penalties: Foley
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Cards & citings
YC – Israel Folau (cynical play)
