The Waratahs have survived a late comeback by the Rebels to prevail 18-16 in Sydney.
Photos courtesy of Keith McInnes photography.
The Match
The Waratahs had the better of the first half, and quickly established a comfortable lead. They opened the scoring through a try to Michael Hooper after a powerful rolling maul from a lineout, with Hooper obviously learning from the performance of rival David Pocock for the Brumbies last night.
They continued this run of good play with a try a few minutes later through Adam Ashley-Cooper, thanks to a lovely backline set play. Kurtley Beale threw a lovely pass to Hooper, who cut through the Rebels defensive line and released AAC who finished off the movement. Unfortunately Bernard Foley hadn’t packed his kicking boots, and missed both conversion attempts, as well as a fairly gettable penalty attempt soonafter. This was to prove somewhat costly to the home side as the game tightened in the later stages.
The Rebels looked outclassed at 0-13 down, and down a man for 10 minutes thanks to a stupid professional foul in the red zone by Sefa Naivalu, but rallied back nicely in the remaining minutes. Their defence tightened noticeably in the second half, and the boot of Jack Debreczeni slowly edged them back into the contest. A Rob Horne try with 20 minutes to go looked to put the game away for the Waratahs, but with Foley again missing the conversion attempt (albeit a tough one) it left the door ajar.
As the rain poured down the Rebels went on the attack, and lit a fire underneath the game with a late try to Bryce Hegarty, to take the margin back to just four, with the score at 18-14. The boot of Debreczeni was to again prove important, slotting the sideline conversion to peg the margin back to just two, within a penalty goal with just a few minutes left on the clock.
But the Tahs had enough gas in the tank to hold the visitors at bay, defending solidly in the final minutes to clinch victory, 18-16.
It was a gutsy effort by the Rebels, after the Tahs looked to blow them away in the opening stanza. I was really impressed with Debreczeni, he looks like he has what it takes to be the next great Wallaby 10. He has a mammoth boot, a physical presence in contact, and game management skills that are improving visibly each game. I’m excited.
As for the rest, well Will Skelton played yet another powerful 80 minutes, while Jacques Potgieter was back to his bruising best. Sekope Kepu also had a good game, with TPN making a big step up in intensity and physicality. AAC and Horne were the best of the backs.
For the Rebels I liked the work of Sean McMahon, as well as Mitch Inman. They were deprived of the ball for long periods but their defence was outstanding, led by the aforementioned players.
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The Game Changer
Hard to pinpoint one moment, but the period of phases just after half time saw the Rebels repel wave after wave of Waratah attack, forcing them back at every phase. It was impressive and marked an important shift in momentum, with the Rebels getting on top with their abrasive play.
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The G&GR MOTM
No real standouts, but in a physical, forward dominated game I will give it to Will Skelton. Put in a big 80 minutes, made telling runs and a number of lovely offloads in contact. Edges Debreczeni, Potgieter and McMahon.
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Wallaby watch
This was Jack Debreczeni’s birth as a future Wallaby star. We’ve all known he was good, but tonight was easily the best I’ve seen him play in Super Rugby. The contrast between the kicking of him and Foley couldn’t be more stark. The only other notable performance was Sekope Kepu, who showed why the new eligibility rules are so important- by god we will need him next season.
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The Details
Crowd: 15,309
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”] Waratahs 18
Tries: Hooper, Ashley-Cooper, Horne
Penalties: Foley [/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”] Rebels 16
Tries: Hegarty
Conversions: Debreczeni
Penalties: Debreczeni 3 [/one_half]
Cards & citings
YC – Sefa Naivalu (cynical infringement)
