'Canes blow weak Rebels away

 

The match was always expected to be a high scoring affair, with two very attacking sides coming together, with neither really renowned for a terrific defence this season.

 

From the word go it was obvious that both sides were eager to run the ball and use their attacking backlines. In a straight shoot-out between the backs the 'Canes had a much bigger arsenal, while Kurtley Beale was the only real weapon for the Rebels.

 

The defensive frailties of the rebels became more and more apparent throughout the game, but the finishing from the 'Canes was incredible at times.

 

The first half yielded seven tries and at some stage you could have forgiven for wondering if there any forwards on the field!

 

As good as the attack from the Hurricanes was, the fact is that the Rebels tackling was pathetic at times and somebody should send a rugby manual to Melbourne with the 'how to tackle' section highlighted.

 

By the end of the game the match had begun to resemble a school's first XV taking on the Under-15 A side in a men against boys mismatch.

 

While the Hurricanes centres both cut through the Rebels defence early on, the first try went the way of the Rebels. From an attacking line-out on the Hurricanes' 22m the Rebels used winger Cooper Vuna as a strike runner on the angle. The strong former rugby league star burst passed a couple of weak tackles and was brought to ground just a few metres short. Vuna crawled forward to score the try, but must consider himself lucky to get away with what looked like a double-movement.

 

Both teams continued to play positive running rugby, looking to attack on every opportunity and the two goal-kickers Beauden Barrett and Beale exchanged penalties.

 

There was a moment of magic for the second try, as 'Canes scrumhalf TJ Perenara picked up near the base of the ruck, slipped under Nick Phipps' challenge and set off down the touchline on the blindside. Perenara ran 30m and was being shepherded into touch, so he flipped a pass behind his back brilliantly for Tim Bateman to collect. The flying centre was hit hard by Cooper, but managed to offload before being bundled into touch 5m from the tryline. Somehow Andre Taylor picked up Bateman's pass from his bootlaces at full speed and went airborne to score in the corner. That could well have been the try of the season!

 

Shortly afterwards the Hurricanes were at it again and Bateman put a perfectly weighted grubber kick in behind the defence. Running onto the ball was wing Alapati Leiua, who had to juggle the ball, but controlled it and went over in the corner for a try.

 

The Rebels defence was letting them down, as Barrett sliced through the centres and then popped an inside ball to Julian Savea and with a head of steam nobody was stopping the big man from going in for a try.

 

From the re-start Savea was in for his second try in as many minutes. Perenara turned over a ball and then sent it down the backline quickly. Conrad Smith put in a grubber kick and Savea was too fast and too strong for the Rebels to deal with him. That was the bonus point try inside 30 minutes. 31-10.

 

The Hurricanes seemed to get a little carried away with the way they were flinging the ball around in the backline, and an ambitious pass from Bateman was intercepted by Vuna. The Rebels wing was able to stroll in for a soft try, but even after Beale's conversion the visitors still trailed 31-17.

 

The 'Canes held possession for a few minutes and cross the advantage line with every surge, as the Rebels defence simply couldn't stem the tide. Blindside flank Faifili Levave ran over a couple of defenders before being dragged to ground a few metres short. Quick ball from Perenara got the ball to Jack Lam, who crashed over the line for a try.

 

When the whistle went for half-time the Hurricanes held an impressive 38-17 lead, and the Rebels looked shell-shocked and in need of a few harsh words during the break.

 

The second half started on the same note as the first had ended, when the ball went through the hands of the 'Canes to Leiua on the wing and the Rebels watched him stroll in for a soft try.

 

On the attack again the 'Canes continued to add to the Rebels misery, as Perenara and Taylor combined well with some slick passing to put Savea in for his hat-trick.

 

More good passing from the 'Canes and some clever changing of angles had the Rebels defence at sixes and sevens and Taylor made the most of that from 10m out, and fended off a couple of tackles before crossing for his second try of the game.

 

Things went from bad to worse for the Rebels, as two massive tackles from Motu Matu'u left both Mark Gerrard and Lachlan Mitchell in trouble and needing some attention from the medical staff.

 

From an attacking line-out 'Canes replacement scrumhalf Chris Eaton got in on the action and snuck through a gaping hole, with the Rebels forwards expecting a rolling-maul from the 'Canes. Eaton went over untouched as questions were asked of the Rebels' defence again.

 

The Rebels did get one conciliation try, as veteran hooker Adam Freier forced his way over from close range in the final minute, but the match had been over for some time.

 

Man of the match: You could any one of half of the Hurricanes backs, with great try-scoring efforts from Julian Savea and Andre Taylor, while Tim Bateman and Conrad Smith were great in the midfield. Beauden Barrett controlled the game well and nailed ten out of ten off the kicking-tee. However, the star was scrumhalf TJ Perenara, who seems to get better and better every week. Perenara was the catalysts for what could be the try of the season and had a hand in most of the tries in the match, with his abrasive play and quick pass vital for the 'Canes.

 

 

Tries: Taylor 2, Leiua 2, Savea 3, Lam, C.Eaton

Cons: Barrett 9

Pen: Barrett

 

Tries: Vuna 2, Freier

Cons: Beale 2, Kingi

Pen: Beale

 

 

Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13  Conrad Smith (captain), 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ben May. 

Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Reg Goodes, 18 James Broadhurst, 19 Brad Shields, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Tusi Pisi, 22 Jayden Hayward.

 

Rebels: 15 Julian Huxley, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Lachlan Mitchell, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve (captain), 7 Tim Davidson, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Cadeyrn Neville, 3 Jono Owen, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Nic Henderson. 

Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Alister Campbell, 19 Tom Chamberlain, 20 Richard Kingi, 21 Stirling Mortlock, 22 James Hilgendorf.

 

Referee: Jonathon White (New Zealand) 

Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)