Hodge nails penalty for Rebels Super draw

Wyn , that was Butch James , be kind to animals , please.

If you watch most of the game in fast forward (like I did when I gave up part way through after the 50th drop ball) you get to miss the commentary

Haylett-Petty, Kuridrani, Hodge ... take your pick, they all did ok last year but all had weaknesses in their game just like Kerevi does. This year his defence has been poor, he is at a 69.6% tackle success rate with the Reds, though in fairness of the regular starting backs only Cooper and Paia'aua have above an 80% tackle completion rate. There is something seriously wrong with the defence coaching at that club at the moment, so I don't know that you can entirely blame Kerevi for struggling, especially since they overuse him in attack and play him the entire 80 every game ... he is probably just knackered. I would still start Kuridrani ahead of Kerevi this year though, at least with him you know you are always going to get a top defensive effort both in terms of quantity and quality, and while he doesn't have the same well rounded attacking skills he is a 9 times out of 10 try scorer if you get him running onto the ball 15 metres out. Think of the number of close games the Wallabies have won because of him. Kerevi is a great young player and will get at run but a bit more time on the bench wouldn't hurt him.

'still needs to improve his defence and handling before he demands Wallaby selection.' You disagree that after Genia he was the Wallabies' best back last year?

Precisely ... I get bagged for noting the same thing about Kerevi - still needs to improve his defence and handling before he demands Wallaby selection. Likewise Hodge, who also has the potential to be really good, ends up in the test team despite clear weaknesses. Mike Harris has a smart rugby brain and no doubt is missed at the Rebels. Terrible passer though. Forwards - this Lomax fella looks like he could be a real find ... powerful and aggressive with a bit of x-factor about him. But he's in his first season and tightheads need more time to mature.

Rebels Injury List - Toby Smith - Tim Metcher - Jack Maddocks - Cruze Ah-Nau - Semisi Tupou - Sean McMahon - Jordy Reid - Murray Douglas - Harley Fox - Sam Jeffries - Rob Leota - Alex Toolis - Pama Foa - Dom Shipperly - Marika Koroibete - Dominic Day And Timani suspended and Colby Faingaa waiting for the birth of his first child. Of the team playing last night there were 3 in the starting line up and 2 on the bench who aren't in the 2017 starting squad. - Fereti Sa'aga - Jake Schatz - Will Miller - Esei Haangana - Hugh Sinclair I think they will be very happy with a draw given the current state of the squad

I also think they are really missing Mike Harris, He was an experienced cool head with playmaking skills and vision out the back, from the limited number of Rebels games I saw Hodge seemed to combine very well with him.

Yeah, it is a real problem for them.

He does need to work on his passing, it is his Achilles heel. Sometimes I think the fact that we have to blood these blokes into test rugby so young is just another major disadvantage that we face compared to the Kiwis. It is a pretty rare 21 year old that gets a starting jersey in the All Blacks, Anton Lienart-Brown is the only one I can think off recently and he is exceptionally polished for his age, but we have to throw these boys in at that age because we lack the depth, whether they are ready or not.

@ Harry these kind of displays by home refs is undermining the tournament's credibility , which is already suffering from diluted quality. during the weekend, HOF was also pathetic - he shud have carded Hooper for high shots - twice !!

Also just that their running game is marred by fundamentally poor ball handling. I had the misfortune of seeing them play the Hurricanes live last season and the Rebels dropped the ball in even minor contact as often as not.

Hodge twice when in strong attacking positions threw terrible passes. Not good enough for a test player despite other good work.

The Rebels' best chances to score tries if by counterattacking with guys like Hodge and especially Naivalu. Rhys, you're right, I don't think their playmakers have the creativity to break down structured defences.

I would suggest that the "overuse of the kick" comes from a realistic assessment by the coach of the Rebels try scoring ability this season. They are missing serious firepower with McMahon and now Timani out, and their halves lack creativity, but they have a 10 and a 12 who both kick like mules. It may not make for pretty Rugby but under the circumstances it would seem that the right strategy is to kick for field position and use penalty kicking to score off the opponent's errors. Seems to be working.

Firstly congratulations to the Rebels for being the first Australian side not to lose playing away from Australia. Secondly, in many ways bad luck. The South African ref, having been given no alternative but to issue a red card for the tip tackle onto the head that was genuinely dangerous, then spent the remaining 3/4ers of the match desperately trying to even things up and penalise the Rebels at every opportunity. A ridiculous display. But, poor handling by both teams and over use of the kick by the Rebels - presumably on instructions. Why when you are up a player? Shows the poverty of the approach and tactics of Australian teams. Many players went well - stand outs for me were Lomax and Hodge, but overall, a good effort.

Watched this match on replay, I guess Kiwis and Saffers may have similar gripes about Aussie commentators, but this bunch were really bad. The "pommie" kept referring to the Mel-born Rebels like he was trying to correct all Australians and the general gist of their commentary was that this useless side that should not even be in the competition had come to Durban to gift the Shorks 5 competition points. They were very surprised that this useless side that had been belted by the Kiwi sides were even competitive in the 1st 20 minutes. When they lost their man in the 20th minute they insulted every Rebels supporter by saying that now it was like a handicap race and they still backed their team to do the job and even suggested that the penalty should have been overturned because Naivalu threw the ball into the face of the tackler who had just about broken his neck. Spoiler alert to the commentators - should their Shorks make it to the play-offs they will be belted by at least 30 by the Kiwi team they go up against!