Beauden Barrett has shown the Melbourne Rebels who’s boss, steering his Hurricanes to a 50-19 win in an action-packed Good Friday Super Rugby clash.
The All Blacks five-eighth was all class and composure at AAMI Park as the winless run of Australian teams against Kiwi opponents stretched to 33.
Bustling Hurricanes winger Ben Lam also proved a handful, grabbing four tries among their haul of seven as his team piled on 42 unanswered points.
While Melbourne sat on top of the Super Rugby ladder heading into the match, the result delivered a reality check in the face of their title ambitions.
Despite the scoreline, Rebels coach Dave Wessels argued there were still some positives. He said the Hurricanes had set a benchmark for his team.
“The game was an opportunity for us to set a marker – what are the things we need to improve on in the next couple of months to be genuinely competitive at the really top end,” he said.
“The Hurricanes are the most dominant team in Super Rugby over the last couple of years.
“I thought in the first half we played some really good rugby and ultimately we lost the game because they controlled the field better.
“If we keep improving in the way we have come July when it’s playoff time, we can be a lot more competitive in the scoreline.”
The Rebels raced ahead 19-8 thanks to a Matt Philip try and four penalty strikes by Jack Debreczeni.
Melbourne No.8 Amanaki Mafi played like a man possessed, clocking a stunning 15 runs and 100m in 40 minutes before being replaced at halftime after a head knock.
But the men from Wellington showed why they have been to Super Rugby’s finals for the past three seasons and were champions in 2016, with Barrett leading them back and keeping the Rebels scoreless from that point.
A flurry of points in the last seven minutes of the first half did the damage.
Lam grabbed his second try as Debreczeni allowed a Barrett kick to bounce. He thought it was going out but it instead landed in the arms of Lam who raced to touch down.
In the final minute of the half Barrett dummied and glided through untouched for his team to take a 25-19 lead.
Melbourne’s hopes of of a second-half revival faded as the visitors showed they still had plenty in the tank, while their defence was rock-solid.
Hard-running Hurricanes No.8 Gareth Evans spotted a hole in the 49th minute to extend the scoreline to 14 points.
When a Rebels try went begging as Debreczeni’s last pass went to ground, the task grew too big for the home side, with tries by Hurricanes centre Ngani Laumape and two more from Lam fittingly capping the night.
ClarkeG
Guest
right up there with Tuisova assuming Trinh-Duc's clearing kick had reached touch (Munster - Toulon) and running infield to cover a quick throw in only to see his opponent runaway to score the match defining try. what a shocker...
ClarkeG
Guest
Cuw those things you are talking about are defined in the law. And by the way, although some referees, match officials, commentators, media people etc often refer to deliberate knock downs there is no such law that prevents this so it is quite misleading to call it a knock down. They really should call it an intentional knock on or knock forward because that is what the law covers. And yes I have seen Munster v Toulon. Some interesting officiating for sure.
Shane D
Roar Rookie
He went to the Waratahs with a view to playing for the Wallabies. He is Australian eligible through his mother.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Fairly good summary but I disagree with the offside call. Without starting a "pushing the margins" vs "blatant cheating" debate It is an optical trick that they often use: If you have a flat line, everyone looks onside, In this case, they had lined up with the center of the ruck, not the last feet. It was great to finally see them called on their "methods". That was one thing Gardiner got right. You can add that to the "marginal" practice of lying down in front of the camera so that the TMO has no way of seeing the grounding. I see what you are doing!
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
I have never seen Gardiner ref a game well. May rave about how great he is, but I just don't see it. It was after his (in)famous "Collapsed ruck" call that had Phill Kierns scrambling to find his rule book to explain it, where I started to question his abilities. I would like to see him improve, but for now, you will get a groan out of me each time I see his name as the Ref.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Didn't miss it, The player on the ground illegally dragged it out of his hands. For all intents and Purposes, Hardwick was the halfback after a counter ruck and had every right to another go.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
I was pretty clear when I said the Rebels fell in a heap afterwords, but bad call like that will kill any teams momentum. The Canes are the best side in the comp and it takes all of the luck and all of the 50-50 calls to go your way to even stand a chance of not being obliterated by them. Subtract the points scored under a yellow card and the Canes don't win by anywhere as many.
piru
Roar Rookie
They have Dane Haylett-Petty but he's out injured - I guess Hodge is next?
piru
Roar Rookie
If the touchy was unsighted or unsure they might have looked, but he was on the spot and made the call in real time - as is proper
cuw
Guest
Mafi took the tap from where the ref was standing . the commentary thought he was right - coz usually the mark is where the ref stands. however i think ur point was the decision - that Mafi was 3m away from the back of the scrum - where the 8 is usually at. i find these things a little silly. for example : it is very rare for any kicker to kick the ball from the given mark. most of the time they advance 3m with three strides from the mark before kicking the ball. or if it is too close to the touch line they come in slowly. there has to be same standards for all things - which is very rare in rugger .
cuw
Guest
TMO looks only if onfield refs are not happy or have doubts. that is how i understand the whole TMO thingy. in the crusaders match the touchie was the one who wanted to check for forward pass - and TMO duly obliged the Lions LOL
Piru
Guest
I thought that's what they were going back for Jacko, that or the obstruction straight after.
Piru
Guest
I thought it weird that they went back looking for a knock on when there was a blatant obstruction no one mentioned.
robert
Guest
i could be wrong here but for a scrum tap it has to be taken from anywhere behind the scrum, think mafi tapped on side of scrum where the ball had came out
Hash House Harrier
Guest
ST I totally agree and couldn't have put it better myself! The bottom line is that both games have highlighted that the Rebels are far from the finished article and have a way to go yet before they become a serious title contender - but hey they are trending in the right direction at least. The narrative that they were wining the game until the 30 minute mark and then the game turned on the bounce of a ball isn't supported by the facts.
double agent
Guest
Something that annoyed me greatly. Before I say it I fully accept that the Canes were FAR better than the Rebels. Just a referee complaint. In the 1st half Mafi took a quick tap from a scrum and made a good 20m run. The ref pulled him up and said you didn't take the tap from the mark. Fair enough. He didn't. In the 2nd half the Canes get a scrum penalty TJP takes a quick tap nowhere near the mark which leads to a try and not a peep from the Ref.
double agent
Guest
Glen Jackson's refereeing of Chiefs v Highlanders was a disgrace.
double agent
Guest
Don't blame him at all. TJP surely the most annoying big mouth in world rugby. Even worse than Phipps which takes some doing.
double agent
Guest
Remember when the Refs had a little crackdown on blockers protecting kickers and shepherding chasers? They were so fierce I think sometimes they took it too far. That's all been forgotten.
double agent
Guest
In 90% I mean!!