Match Result
What can you say? That certainly wasn’t one for the ages! A scrappy affair in Melbourne compounded by the dampness of the pitch. One highlight was the Brumbies’ rolling maul which looked dangerous every time they were in the Rebels’ 22.
No real standouts in this game McMahon got through a mountain of work with 15 runs for the game, while Butler was superb in the maul for the Brumbies. Brumbies in the end lucky to get away with the win as the Rebels came hard at the end of the game. The Rebels have improved and the rest of the competition should be on notice not to take them easy.
In the end it’s the Brumbies 20 defeating the Rebels 15.
Match preview
The Brumbies will be looking to atone for a heart-stopping loss to the Chiefs in New Zealand last week, while the Rebels show continuing improvement. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7:20pm (AEDT).
It was oh-so close for the Brumbies last week, and they look one of the more dangerous franchises in the early stages of 2015.
Coach Stephen Larkham has made the tough call to move Robbie Coleman into the fullback position and it has worked wonders.
In week one the Brumbies couldn’t stop scoring tries, and while last week was a little tougher, with just two tries shared between the two teams, the Brumbies could get going again in Melbourne this week.
Last week Nic White’s questionable tactics, turning down a number of chances to get points on the board by opting to go for touch in search of tries, proved costly as Aaron Cruden kicked a penalty after the siren to give the Chiefs victory. But many seasoned rugby fans were scratching their heads as the Brumbies could’ve easily been up by at least a try.
One way of explaining it could be that the Brumbies’ kicking last season was poor but Christian Lealiifano seemed to find his groove in Round 1, so we may see a different approach this week.
The Rebels started well against the Waratahs last week and at stages looked like stealing the game, but some Kurtley Beale magic was enough to win the Waratahs the day.
Lopeti Timani has already been labelled as a World Cup bolter by The Roar’s own Brett McKay and he has been a great addition to this Rebels side. Another handy addition has been the experience of Mike Harris, who nailed all his conversions last week.
I expect this game to be won and lost in the forwards, the Rebels need to be able to stop the Brumbies forwards from allowing the Brumbies quick ball to their backline. If they can do that and play similarly to last week then this game is going to be a cracking encounter.
Prediction
The Brumbies to be too classy in this one.
Brumbies by 10.
ethan
Guest
Good games from both.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Does anyone have the official attendance for the Rebels v Brumbies game?
Maxt
Guest
You have been a Brumby hater for years Peter, time to give it a rest. Rob C clearly makes the point in the post below why the Brumbies deserved to win so I won't go over those points again other than to say that the Brumbies pack are winning the games, not sure what is up with Speight, but he is having very little impact.
MH01
Guest
The rebels deserved to win that one. Not clever play by the Brumbies at the end. The rain in the second half was always going to result in an ugly contest, was coming down quite hard. Good to see the rebels throwing down the gauntlet this year and being really competitive . They are going to get some bug scalps this year.
RobC
Roar Guru
Peter, seeking your opinion How did you find the ref Landers Reds ie Landers offside. Didnt think I saw it
MH01
Guest
PeterK, you clearly come across as someone who dislikes the Brumbies a lot, so your comment is quite interesting to say the least. I just fail to see how the Rebels were overall better.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Apparently you don't know what the word 'objective' means. It does not mean 'neutral'. Get yourself a dictionary. So let's look at the facts. The Rebels scored zero tries. They got over the line once but were held up. Twice they threw the ball out wide to nobody, once it bounced into touch, the other time they actually ran it into touch. They were aggressive, yes; they were also sloppy. The Rebels conceded once from a rolling maul and could easily have conceded again but for Butler dropping the ball. I will discount the Kuridrani try seeing as you are uptight about it. But you can't deny that they looked very weak every time the Brumbies had an attacking lineout. They foiled one maul by not contesting it. Smart. They might have tried it more but instead they chose to get steamrolled. Not smart. The scrums seesawed, both sides lost two so I'll call that even. The Rebels lost three of their own lineouts to one for the Brumbies. I won't call that even. Higginbotham's yellow was his second penalty conceded. Carter's yellow was his first penalty conceded. Both were cynical and deserved what they got. And since we're going to talk about Steve Walsh, all I will say is that he is a dreadful referee who has ruined plenty of matches before. I feel sorry the Rebels got dudded with the forward pass, but I am pretty confident the Brumbies would have won this match with another officiator. Maybe not with you, though.
Boomeranga
Guest
Rebels have a good pack now. They would benefit a lot from a more consistent line out thrower. Might be worth taking a few more risks with their back line selections. English, Inman, Ellison, Shipperley and Harris are all good super level players but they don't seem to have anyone to provide a spark out there. Maybe the bench winger or that Kiwi winger might be worth giving some more game time.
PeterK
Roar Guru
since you support the brumbies you are hardly objective.
PeterK
Roar Guru
Overall Rebels were better. Walsh penalised rebels and brumbies for same thing. Higginbotham carded on first offence of pulling the maul down. Brumbies contantly infringed in 22 and finally carded with 5 mins to go. Did not review kuridrani try. Such a close game with such ref blunders effects result. Walsh was the difference for the brumbies
RubberLegs
Guest
McGahan found a way to lose; Bryce Hegarty should have been given 20 minutes;
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Correction: the better team won. The Rebels let themselves down with poor execution and too many turnovers. Great surge towards the end of the game, but they weren't the better team throughout the match. They have to be more clinical.
PeterK
Roar Guru
Stirzaker for Rebels and Fardy for Brumbies were standouts IMO
PeterK
Roar Guru
the better team lost, Walsh had a shocker
ethan
Guest
He's such a hopeless referee.
ethan
Guest
Rebels won't get the spoon again this year. They look better than last year and much better than the Force. No obvious standouts but both packs worked extremely hard.
ethan
Guest
Rebels put up an excellent fight. Just lacked a little polish in attack. They also didn't get the rub of the whistle. It's disappointing the Brumbies don't unleash their backs more often, but they'll be pretty pleased with a hard fought away win. The Kuridrani try was very fortunate.
RobC
Roar Guru
Nice Rebel surge at death. Good leg drive Brumbies: - Scrum wasnt as good as last week vs Chiefs - Lineout put to good use to score points - Fardy. 4 TO won. 1 LO win - Might be lucky the Tevita try wasnt called for TMO - Points from the pack moves this and last week. Backs should get a chance next week - or else! Rebs. good job, almost good enough to win. A lot better than the Reds: Gets a bonus point. Scrum good! - Lineouts terrible. Locks are too short - Two of their forwards ran more metres than everyone from Brumbies (Jones, SeanMc) - Goood leg drive and support on phase play. Reds pay attention! Someone in the forums mentioned McGahan not a coach of note, which I found odd. This game is a good example
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Cheers, Brent. Might need a stiff drink to calm me down after that finish.
Brent Ford
Roar Guru
Cheers Rob!