Rebels favourites for play-offs despite Tahs defeat

The Rebels remain on course to qualify for the Super Rugby AU play-offs, despite suffering a 38-32 defeat to the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.

Although the Tahs moved four points clear of the Melbourne outfit in the table, a bonus-point victory over the winless Western Force will see Dave Wessels’ charges claim a finals’ berth.

Rob Penney’s men were the better side in the opening half-hour of this game, deservedly going 14-3 ahead thanks to tries from Jake Gordon and Jack Dempsey, but they were pegged back via Matt Toomua and Isi Naisarani scores.

That made it 17-17, with Will Harrison and Toomua also trading penalties, before the Tahs inched in front through Harry Johnson-Holmes. Joey Walton then extended their buffer before Marika Koroibete and Naisarani kept the Rebels in the contest.

Harrison’s try appeared to have taken away the losing bonus-point but Toomua kicked a three-pointer to leave the Waratahs frustrated.

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The Tahs have shown a significant improvement since the early part of the campaign. Ironically, it was the disappointing 29-10 defeat to the Melbourne outfit back in Round 4 that appeared to be the catalyst for change.

Since then, they have been much-improved and, despite a heavy defeat to the Brumbies last time out, the Sydneysiders impressed once again in the opening stages of Saturday’s encounter.

Although Toomua kicked Wessels’ charges in front, the Waratahs stamped their authority on proceedings and began to pressurise their opponents’ rearguard. They showed patience and poacher Gordon, who scored a hat-trick against the Reds three weeks ago, was on hand to touch down.

The scrum-half – always a threat around the fringes – was a significant pain for the Rebels’ defence and he almost breached it for the second time when a neat lineout move saw him scamper clear. That attack broke down but it did not matter as minutes later they duly crossed the whitewash when Dempsey powered over.

It was comfortable for Penney’s men, who were controlling most facets of play, but the Melbourne team did finally get on the front foot. They forced the Tahs to continually infringe and eventually it led to a yellow card for Ned Hanigan.

With the second-row off the field, the Rebels immediately benefited as Toomua took a nice line to finish, despite the attentions of several defenders.

Matt To'omua crosses for the Rebels and it's game on in #SuperRugbyAU 🇦🇺

Both teams are vying for a Finals spot… a big 40 minutes ahead on Sky Sports Main Event & Arena 📺 pic.twitter.com/437FIB01wD

— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) August 29, 2020

He also added the conversion, leaving his side just four points in arrears, but a penalty from Harrison extended it to seven at the end of the first half.

Wessels’ side had the momentum, however, and levelled matters at the start of the second period. The maul, which had proved so effective before the interval, once again paid dividends as Naisarani touched down to leave the match finely poised.

The Waratahs, with their opponents in the ascendancy, could have folded, but they are made of sterner stuff nowadays and responded excellently. The close-range surge had been profitable throughout and for the third time in the match they managed to burrow over when Johnson-Holmes scored.

Tahs’ spirits were lifted and seven minutes later they had their fourth try through Walton, who took a superb angle to scamper through and finish under the posts.

It was a potentially crucial moment with the play-offs on the line but the men from Melbourne hit back, scoring twice via Koroibete and Naisarani to leave them two points behind going into the latter stages.

A losing bonus-point would have been satisfactory for the Rebels but it was put in doubt via Harrison’s opportunistic try. However, Toomua’s dead-eye boot means the Rebels have the chance to confirm their play-off place next week.