The Melbourne Rebels, who are struggling to survive, have put yet another nail in the NSW Waratahs’ coffin with a fierce 27-21 Super Rugby Pacific derby victory in Sydney.
Rebels captain Rob Leota stated, “It’s huge for us to get a win, after the last two weeks of not being able to get a win.” “To come away and win on the road is definitely big and gives us a lot of confidence going back home next week, so I’m pretty happy with that.”
Following three consecutive close losses, the Waratahs were eager to bounce back and secure a spot in the finals. Rather, formidable prop Angus Bell (back) and fellow Wallabies forward Ned Hanigan (hamstring), as well as in-form flanker Charlie Gamble (calf), were forced to watch the game from the sidelines, dealing a severe blow to coach Darren Coleman prior to kickoff.
Sione Misiloi and Jack Barrett of the Australian under-20s were pushed to make their Super Rugby debuts without notice by Coleman. The disturbance might or might not have resulted in a clumsy, exciting first quarter with frantic handling and a desperate, stumbling defense, but neither team scored any points.
Against the flow of play, Melbourne eventually took the lead in the 21st minute through a try by winger Lachlan Anderson, who was set up by a fast tap and burst from halfback Ryan Louwrens inside his own territory. Soon after, flanker Lachie Swinton of the Waratahs tied the score with a brilliant team play that included eight pairs of hands and an unlikely flick ball from prop Tom Ross to score beneath the posts.
However, the Tahs suffered yet another serious blow when lock Hugh Sinclair tried a reckless tackle on Anderson, which led to a head collision and a yellow card, giving the Rebels a 10-7 advantage at halftime. Melbourne may have regretted missing many chances to increase their advantage through penalty-goal attempts, choosing instead to engage in scrums and lineouts inside the Waratahs’ territory in the opening minutes of the second half.
One of the greatest errors was made by NSW when, trailing three points, replacement lock Miles Amatosero mysteriously failed to tap the ball from a penalty in front of the Melbourne posts. The coach was shown on camera yanking off his hair in the NSW box, which shocked Coleman.
When the Waratahs’ standout player surged over to give the home team a four-point advantage at the hour mark, Langi Gleeson momentarily reduced the tension. However, the Waratahs are now languishing in 10th place on the list with a dangerous stretch of games ahead of them after the Rebels’ late double blow.
Next week, they play the Australian benchmark ACT Brumbies in Canberra before taking on three formidable adversaries from New Zealand, the Crusaders, Chiefs, and Hurricanes.