Rebels debut: Kurtley Beale
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The Reds recorded their third straight win in their Super Rugby title defence as they ousted Melbourne Rebels 11-6 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
It was hardly vintage rugby from the champions as they were pushed all the way by the competition's newest franchise in a cagey contest in Brisbane.
Their sole try came courtesy of Dom Shipperley five minutes before the hour, which was the first time they had led matters against their visitors.
Prior to that, inside centre James O'Connor had opened the scoring following a concerted period of pressure from the fired-up Rebels, who were looking to right the wrongs of their humiliating opening fixture against the Reds of last year.
He added his second three-pointer on 32 minutes as the Rebels continued to win both the attacking and defensive battle against what seemed like a tired champion outfit, who were struggling to fire.
Two players struggling to find their rhythm were half-back duo Will Genia and Mike Harris, with the latter losing his 100 per cent kicking record after failing with a couple of attempts at goal.
Ewen McKenzie's charges stepped up the tempo in the second-half and were rewarded when Shipperley latched on to a long pass from Genia to score a decisive try in the corner.
The victory took the Reds to the top of the Australian conference but level on points with the Brumbies, who beat the Cheetahs 24-23 in the final minute in Canberra earlier on Saturday.
The Reds now head to South Africa for two matches, first against the Sharks in Durban next Saturday, but will need to up their performance if they are to keep their winning record going.
The scorers:
For Reds:
Try: Shipperley
Pen: Harris 2
For Rebels:
Pen: O'Connor 2
Reds: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Jono Lance, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Mike Harris, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Van Humphries, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Rod Davies.
Rebels: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Richard Kingi, 8 Gareth Delve (capt), 7 Tom Chamberlain, 6 Tim Davidson, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Alister Campbell, 19 Jarrod Saffy, 20 Nick Phipps, 21 Lachlan Mitchell, 22 Julian Huxley.
Referee: Ian Smith (Australia)
Comments
isthatrightref says...
@ Trader... still trawling for your white whale I see. You may want to try this: jot down 3 dumb things Clarky, Kearnsy, Marto & Slacky say during a Reds match; change a word or 2 - e.g. fantastic! becomes avaerage - & swap out a cliche - deserved winners becomes got out of jail - then string it together as a post. Be on the lookout for unexpected/ unintentional gems - after the 'tahs match Clarky used "like a thief in the night" & the laptop retriever was nowhere in sight - that can be dropped in verbatim. You'll have to wait until after the next ep of Rugby Club on Fox Sports for a reply, but the result may be worth the wait. Cheers.
Posted 19:59 12th March 2012
Ramage says...
The Reds have yet to hit their straps their play is somewhat rusty and they are really struggling to play the expansive rugby we saw from them last year. So far they haven't been tested by any other conference team than the Australian ones, which means they have got some more time before they are truly challenged next Saturday to sort out their problems. However as they say a win is a win. Maybe just maybe the challenge of a team playing good rugby is what they need to shake off their lethargy. However they must be concerned with the dropped passes poor positioning and general lack of good controlled rugby certainly not the most enthralling game of the weekend. Another new Australian referee given the whistle. Wonder how long he will last? Howeve, lets give him the fact it was his first and wish him well.
Posted 03:35 11th March 2012
melkdave says...
Only saw the 2nd half and it was a very scrappy game from both sides imo.But i think the reds just deserved it
Posted 18:03 10th March 2012
Carpelone says...
How is O'Connor playing at 2nd 5/8? Can he control the game with his boot? It will be an interesting options for the Wallabies, even though he would struggle against physical centres.
Posted 11:51 10th March 2012