Quade Cooper stars as Rebels get the better of Brumbies

Quade Cooper delivered a superb performance in his debut for the Rebels as they notched a 34-27 victory over the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.

In a topsy-turvy match in Canberra, the Brumbies had the better of the opening exchanges but the visitors came back strongly as the game progressed and were deserved winners in the end.

Cooper, who last played at this level in 2017, showed great composure throughout and shone as his side’s chief playmaker. His distribution skills were excellent and he also impressed by taking the ball to the line several times.

The Wallaby fly-half varied his play intelligently, did not try to overplay his hand and also combined brilliantly with his scrum-half, Will Genia, who also had a good game.

The Rebels’ forwards also deserve praise as they stood up well in the battle up front against their heavier counterparts and set up a solid platform for their half-backs.

In the end, the Rebels outscored the Brumbies by five tries to four with Jack Maddocks leading the way for the visitors with a brace. Their other points came via tries from Tom English, Matt Philip and Anaru Rangi and three conversions and a penalty from Cooper.

Folau Fainga’a, Rory Arnold, Allan Alaalato and Sam Carter dotted down for the Brumbies and Christian Lealiifano added a penalty and two conversions.

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Earlier, in Hamilton, the Highlanders launched a stunning second-half comeback to beat the Chiefs 30-27 in an entertaining New Zealand derby.

As expected, this was a thrilling affair and the Highlanders deserve plenty of credit for their win as they trailed on the scoreboard for long periods.

They also played the latter stages of the match with 14 men after Sio Tomkinson was red carded for an illegal hit on Brodie Retallick when the Highlanders were leading 24-20.

But despite that setback, the men from Dunedin did not panic and clinched the game in the 78th minute courtesy of a try from Aaron Smith. Their other points came via tries from Pari Pari Parkinson and Shannon Frizell and three conversions and three penalties from Josh Ioane.

For the Chiefs, Tyler Ardron, Angus Taavao-Matau and Etene Nanai-Seturo crossed the whitewash. Brad Weber added two conversions and Stephen Donald slotted a penalty.