A gutsy second half fight back from the Emirates Western Force fell just short as the Perth side was left to rue an opportunity lost against the Rebels who snatched a 30-29 win in Melbourne on Friday night.
Despite outscoring the Victorian’s four tries to three the Emirates Western Force were left to lament a slow start that let the home side race to a 21-0 lead before poor discipline gave the Rebels shots on goal that earned them the victory late in the game.
The much hyped first meeting between the Emirates Western Force and former back James O’Connor didn’t eventuate, despite him being named in the team on Thursday, the youngster instead sat on the sidelines after injuring a hamstring earlier in the week.
Further losses were felt by both sides in the opening half with Emirates Western Force lock Sam Wykes coming from the ground after 25 minutes with a foot problem while Rebels playmaker Danny Cipriani also was subbed around that time.
Cipriani though had already inflicted some damage on the West Aussies with the Rebels third try in an opening blitz that along with Lachlan Mitchell and Lloyd Johansson’s tries had the visitors stunned.
Emirates Western Force captain David Pocock was the first to answer the call, the star flanker scored when he reacted best to a bobbling ball on the ground and barrelled his way over from short range before Winston Stanley added another five minutes later to further reduce the margin. The try was Stanley’s first in FxPro Super Rugby.
With the Rebels lead trimmed to 12 at the break the Emirates Western Force had weathered the storm and regrouped to play a much improved second period.
Flying winger Alfie Mafi gave the WA side the perfect opening when he danced through the Rebels line to dot down under the posts. David Harvey’s conversion and successful penalty a short time later saw the Emirates Western Force score back to back points for the first time and brought them within two of a fading Rebels outfit.
Julian Huxley gave the home side some breathing space with a successful penalty kick after which the match turned into an arm wrestle as both teams sought the critical breakthrough.
The Emirates Western Force thought they might have had it when Nick Cummins was put through by substitute halfback Justin Turner in the 63rd minute and they hit the lead for the first time to mark a dramatic turnaround from the earlier malaise they had found themselves in.
With Pocock, who was superb throughout, asserting himself even further at the breakdown the Emirates Western Force appeared ready to repel any Rebels reprise however Mark Gerrard was given a chance to get the Melbourne side back into the lead and he nailed a long range penalty with seven minutes left.
Despite the best efforts of the visitors they were unable to get deep into their attacking half as the clock quickly became their enemy. One last push following the hooter came to nothing when the referee awarded a touchy penalty and the Rebels were able to boot the ball into touch.
While Emirates Western Force Coach Richard Graham was pleased with the way his players responded to outscore the Rebels 17-6 following the restart, he was disappointed with the predicament they had got themselves into in the first quarter of the match and some poor discipline that enable Melbourne shots on goal.
“At 21-nil there is one of two ways the game could have gone. You either pack up and go home and get pumped or you show some character and resolve and do what we did,” Graham said.
“There is resolve in the group because you don’t go from 21 points down to then be leading without having that in the squad, but when you get into situations like we did towards the end of the game you have to manage them better.
“I thought we lacked intensity in terms of our defence at the start of the game and that was evident wasn’t it.
“The game is really simple at the moment, you need to play field position and it is best to get there as quickly as you can and be disciplined,” Graham added.
While there was obvious disappointment in the camp there were at least some positives to take forward, firstly a four try bonus point for the first time since round nine 2010, and secondly a wonderful performance by the forwards which was singled out by Graham after the game.
“I thought our forward pack tonight was outstanding. I thought our lineout was excellent, our scrum was dominant and they were certainly contributing factors in getting us back into the game,” Graham said.
After a fortnight on the road and an opening to the 2012 season that has seen them spend four of the first five rounds interstate, the Emirates Western Force return to Perth where they’ll meet the Reds at nib Stadium on Saturday 31 March.
2012 FxPro Super Rugby – Week 5
Melbourne Rebels v Emirates Western Force
Friday, 23 March 2012 at AAMI Park
Melbourne Rebels 30 (Tries: L Mitchell, L. Johansson, D Cipriani; Con: D Cipriani 3/3; Pen: J Huxley 2/4, M Gerrard 1/1; DG: J Huxley 0/1)
Emirates Western Force 29 (Tries: N Cummins, W. Stanley, A. Mafi, D Pocock; Con: D. Harvey 3/4; Pen: D. Harvey 1/2; DG: J. Stannard 0/1)
Squads
Melbourne Rebels: 1.Nic Henderson, 2.Adam Freier, 3.Laurie Weeks, 4.Luke Jones, 5.Hugh Pyle, 6.Jarrod Saffy, 7.Tom Chamberlain, 8.Gareth Delve (Captain), 9.Nick Phipps, 10.Danny Cipriani, 11.Cooper Vuna, 12. Lloyd Johansson, 13.Lachlan Mitchell, 14.Mark Gerrard, 15.Julian Huxley. Reserves: 16.Ged Robinson, 17.Rodney Blake, 18.Alister Campbell, 19.Tim Davidson, 20.Michael Lipman, 21.Nic Strizaker, 22.James Hilgendorf
Emirates Western Force: 1.Kieran Longbottom, 2.Nathan Charles, 3.Salesi Ma’afu, 4.Sam Wykes, 5.Nathan Sharpe, 6.Angus Cottrell, 7.David Pocock (Captain), 8.Matt Hodgson, 9.Brett Sheehan, 10.James Stannard, 11.Alfie Mafi, 12.Winston Stanley, 13.Will Tupou, 14.Nick Cummins, 15.David Harvey. Reserves 16.Ben Whittaker, 17.Pek Cowan, 18.Toby Lynn, 19.Richard Brown, 20.Justin Turner, 21. Rory Sidey, 22.Samu Wara
Yellow Cards: nil
Red Cards: nil
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner, Rohan Hoffman
Crowd: 10,982
