In front of a smallish crowd at AAMI Park Melbourne, on a grey afternoon, Super Rugby high flyers the Lions, got the result most people expected – a seven tries to one win over the Rebels.
For a long time in the first half the Rebels battled hard on defence and put the Lions’ vaunted attacking game under some pressure, but the Rebels gifted them too many opportunities through poor kicking options. Eventually the dam broke, with Courtnal Skosan skipping through for a crucial try which gave the Lions the halftime lead at 19-7.
The Lions dominated possession – helped by the Rebels kicking the ball back to them so often – and on another day, may even have expected more than the seven tries they got.
They have pace to burn on the outside, Skosan the standout player of the match scoring a superb individual try in the second half, albeit aided by some ineffective defence.
The Lions forwards were also rewarded with a penalty try from a lineout maul. Rebels replacement lock Callum Retallick dispatched from the field with a Yellow Card for collapsing the maul, just as quickly as he had come on.
Not all of the Lions play was clinical, the damp conditions perhaps contributing to a number of handling errors, but coach Johan Ackermann won’t mind a few things to work on before they take on the Brumbies next week.
For the Rebels, coach Tony McGahan said before the game that after their loss to the Kings he wanted his side to up their physicality and level of competing for the ball, and to a large extent they did this, although the weight of possession to the Lions was simply too much to withstand over 80 minutes.
Whatever fight and spirit was shown – and there was plenty – clearly the Rebels lack combinations and confidence as a result of their high turnover of players. This afternoon, they lost skipper Colby Fainga’a in the warm up, and introduced a new 18-year-old loose forward Esei Haangana off the bench as a result, straight out of their U20 squad.
The bright spot for the Rebels was their season standout, No.8 Amanaki Mafi, who gave it everything in attack and defence, once again making a spectacular bust on a kick return that eventually resulted in a try to Tom English.
Also standing out was winger Marika Koroibete, in probably his best performance in a Rebels jumper; always looking for work, and nailing a flying Skosan in the corner in a first-half try saver.
On the debit side, the line-out woes which have plagued the Rebels all year continued again; unable to sustain pressure from penalties by losing their own throw on a number of occasions.
That’s a sure sign that combinations are not there, and although coach McGahan wasn’t looking for any excuses afterwards, he must be desperate to restore some consistency in selection and get some of his front-line players back into work.
All in all, a match which illustrated exactly where each team sits on the competition ladder. The Lions are a class outfit and are on their way to a repeat finals spot, and today they simply had too much class for the home side.
Final score: Rebels 10, Lions 47
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