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The Melbourne Rebels secured a 5-point win over the Western Force on Sunday afternoon, though it came at the cost of a hamstring injury to Mike Harris.
Final score
Rebels 27
Force 22
The Melbourne Rebels host the Western Force in a rare Sunday afternoon fixture at AAMI Park, to close out Super Rugby’s Round 13. Catch all of the live scores and play action from 4:05pm AEST on The Roar.
While the Rebels still have a mathematical chance of claiming a finals wildcard spot, in reality both sides are playing for other reasons – to restore and enhance credibility, and to further promote the international prospects of Wallabies squad members such as Sean McMahon, Toby Smith, Adam Coleman and Dayne Haylett-Petty.
The Rebels have gained ground this season, and appeal as a solid, competent side, however they have lost their last three matches and will be desperate to right the ship at home, against the Australian conference cellar dwellers.
It will also be interesting to see how captain Nic Stirzaker reacts to being overlooked for Michael Cheika’s initial 39-man Wallabies squad. He has had an injury-plagued season but has been steadily working up to full capacity and should be ready to produce a strong performance.
For their part the Force come off a very disappointing match at home against the Blues, where, despite a favourable 15-3 penalty count, and numerous opportunities, they somehow failed to conjure a win.
Their strength is goal-kicking, a total success rate of 93.2 per cent easily the competition’s best. Try scoring however has proved more problematic, only 18 tries to date, compared to the Rebels’ 30. More worryingly, the Force has conceded 46 tries, including a whopping 20 in the final quarters of their matches.
All of which augurs badly, particularly with the loss of inspirational captain Matt Hodgson to a dislocated shoulder. At 162 tackles made, Hodgson leads competition all-comers by a street but, in his absence, where will the Force’s defence come from?
The Force also have serious injury/depth issues at fly-half and appear to be in a state of disarray compared to the Rebels, who are close to full strength.
Prediction
Rebels vs Force encounters are invariably tight, indeed only once in 11 meetings has the margin between these sides exceeded seven points. I expect this to change today, the home side to do it in a canter.
Rebels by 24.
Join The Roar this afternoon from 4:05pm AEST for scores, updates and debates, live from the ground.