Brumbies
39
Match Complete
Rebels
26
| 77 |  | F. Lomani | ||
| T. Wright | | 67 | ||
| N. Lolesio |  | 65 | ||
| 59 |  | F. Lomani | ||
| 58 | | D. Haylett-Petty | ||
| N. Lolesio | | 52 | ||
| F. Fainga'a | | 51 | ||
| 42 | | F. Lomani | ||
| 41 | | A. Cottrell | ||
| 38 | | M. Toomua | ||
| 37 | | A. Cottrell | ||
| S. Kata | | 27 | ||
| T. Cusack | | 24 | ||
| N. Lolesio | | 12 | ||
| T. Banks | | 11 | ||
| N. Lolesio | | 5 | ||
| I. Simone | | 4 |
| 6 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 1 | Field Goals | 0 |
The ACT Brumbies are up and running in season 2020 and will look to make it two wins on the trot when they host the Melbourne Rebels this evening. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7.15pm AEDT.
Fresh off a confidence-boosting win over the Queensland Reds, the Brumbies now host a Rebels outfit coming off a poor defeat to the Sunwolves last week in Japan.
The Rebels started slowly against a dedicated Sunwolves outfit away from home and could find themselves behind the eight ball early yet again against a traditionally hardworking Brumbies that never gives away anything at home.
Melbourne remain an inconsistent side at the best of times. That is what makes them dangerous but also a real danger to themselves at the same time.
The Brumbies meanwhile are a proud club on the field at least, finishing one match short of a Super Rugby grand final appearance last season, losing to the in-form Jaguares in Argentina. While they may not possess the formidable depth and class of a team like the Crusaders, (let’s face it, no team does in Super Rugby at present), the Brumbies always work hard for results and in more cases than not, get the job done at home.
This was exactly the case last week against the Reds. The Brumbies were in a fight for the majority of the contest but found a way to sneak home for their tenth straight win as hosts.
The Brumbies will look to improve their form at the scrum this week, because with an all-Wallabies front row, they still struggled against the Reds, giving away several penalties.
As for the Rebels, Matt Toomua needs a stellar game in attack for Melbourne to cause the upset away from home. He is a fine player on his day and he will need to be sharp with the ball and the boot for Melbourne to win.
Prediction
The Brumbies at home are on a ten-match winning streak for a reason. They are difficult to beat and always roll up their sleeves in the ACT. The Rebels have what it takes to cause the upset, but the Brumbies at home should be just too good in a tight one.
Brumbies by 7.
Game information
Time: 7.15pm AEDT
Venue: Canberra Stadium
Coverage: Live Kayo Sports, Fox Sports
Betting: Brumbies $1.39, Rebels $3.02
Squads
Brumbies (15-1)
Tom Banks, Solomone Kata, Tevita Kuridrani, Irae Simone, Tom Wright, Noah Lolesio, Joe Powell, Pete Samu, Tom Cusack, Rob Valetini, Murray Douglas, Cadeyrn Neville, Allan Alaalatoa (c), Folau Fainga’a, Scott Sio
Reserves: Connal McInerney, Harry Lloyd, James Slipper, Nick Frost, Will Miller, Ryan Lonergan, Bayley Kuenzle, Andy Muirhead
Rebels (15-1)
Dane Haylett-Petty (c), Marika Koroibete, Reece Hodge, Billy Meakes, Andrew Kellaway, Matt Toomua, Frank Lomani, Isi Naisarani, Michael Wells, Angus Cottrell, Matt Philip, Ross Haylett-Petty, Ruan Smith, Anaru Rangi, Matt Gibbon
Reserves: Steve Misa, Cameron Orr, Jermaine Ainsley, Gideon Koegelenberg, Rob Leota, Richard Hardwick, Ryan Louwrens, Campbell Magnay
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Not mean.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Ken, I am not going there! Over on the Roar Ice Hockey page, its the equivalent of the Hooper v Poey battles!! :shocked:
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Yes Rob, out of interest who is ‘ the best ice hockey player in Townsville? ’
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Yep, and I agree Deegan is worthy of a shot at 10
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Sounds mean to say it, but I think MM's been overtaken by the new crop already. Hamish Stewart is sensibly reinventing himself as a 12. Time for the pivot to pivot into something/somewhere else.
jeznez
Roar Guru
:stoked: He didn't have the stiffest competition but I will say I thought he was excellent against Wales in particular. I'm with Greysy below, I'd like to see Deegan given a good shot with To'omua at 12.
OtakiCraig
Roar Rookie
Hahahaha
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
he was the best of our 10s at the WC Like being the best ice hockey player in Townsville? :silly: very strange to see a 10 playing better against Test match defences than Super Rugby ones Maybe the answer is he’s talented (so can play well) but still settling into 10 (so can play not so well)? I don’t mean to run him down, he’s the leading contender for the WB 10, but he always looks more like a 12 who can play 10, to me.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Fully agree on this, Donaldson is fairly slightly built - I think he'll benefit from a season in the gym. Meanwhile Deegan shouldn't be discarded before he's even had a go. Hodge at 13 will probably benefit from having someone like To'omua inside him as well.
jeznez
Roar Guru
To'omua is an odd one, he was poor in his limited starts at 10 for the Rebels at the end of last year, and is sounding like he's not been good the last two weeks. (I've not watched him, just reading people's comments). On the flip side I thought he was the best of our 10s at the WC, very strange to see a 10 playing better against Test match defences than Super Rugby ones.
jeznez
Roar Guru
I've only seen the highlights but enjoyed what I saw, loved the well worked lineout move for Fainga'a. Was surprised how much cleaning up To'omua was doing in those limited clips. Some of the defence (or lack of) going on around him was very poor.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
I like Toomua tsuru but I think that rugby has moved on from him. Rebels are suffering from last year’s Wallaby problem- not enough 10’s (ie. any).
tsuru
Roar Rookie
I’m wondering if Wessels is reacting to the Rebels collapse at the end of last season. Maybe he has tried to bring the team along more slowly/consistently and to peak in time for the playoffs. But at this rate they aren’t going to get there.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
But Ken, if Toomua was back at the Brumbies we wouldn’t be seeing what a talent Lolesio is. I don’t think. Although maybe Toomua would play 12? But then what about Simone?
Rob Roy
Guest
At least he's consistent at being incorrect!!
Trebla
Guest
Brumbie players must be as sick as their fans of this pick and drive obsession. Their backline is electrifying but they never get the ball. Tom Wright, Banks and all the others live off the crumbs and still manage to score and look good. Lolesio and Simone are excellent links, get the ball out wide and actually entertain the fans. Sorry for the rant.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I’ve just finished watching a full replay. Rebels simply awful early - scrum slaughtered and the Fijian 9 was truly dreadful. I liked the character they showed from 24-0 though. Hope for next week. Not too much, but hope nonetheless. Don’t know how good the Brumbies are. Reds and Rebels both awful enough for long enough to lose the match so need to see how they look if a side turns up. The optimism I had a fortnight ago is leaking away rather quicker than I’d hoped
Paul D
Roar Rookie
True. And I guess now if Harrison gets himself established we may see Mason moving on. So we’ll want Donaldson to back up. I will feel a bit sorry for Mason if he is usurped before a preppier run at it, but Harrison seems to have a lot more upside.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I was really impressed and didn’t even think of that. Can you guys please not break our players?
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Well the Rebels are better than they were last week. At this rate of improvement they will beat the Saders when the time comes.