Record-breaking Rebels beat Blues

The Rebels set a new franchise record when they beat the Blues 42-22 in their Super Rugby Round 13 encounter in Melbourne on Friday.

Outscoring the visitors by five tries to three, the Rebels recorded their sixth victory of the season – the first time they have scored more than five wins in a year.

It was an entertaining encounter, if you were willing to look past the bountiful lapses in skills.

However, the Rebels will care little about their errors or how they achieved the win. The 'W' is all that matters, as it puts them in eighth place – for now – and within touching distance of a play-off spot.

Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham became the leading try-scoring forward in Super Rugby history, as he scored one of the five Rebels tries – which also saw Toby Smith score a first for the franchise on the way to a bonus-point win.

Despite an early attacking onslaught from the Blues, the Rebels were the first to put points on the board, with a penalty-goal to Mike Harris on the five-minute mark.

This was shortly followed by a great team try to Colby Fainga'a, who passed the ball back and forth with Higginbotham and Sefanaia Naivalu – after Jack Debreczeni intercepted the Blues' attack – Fainga'a diving over in the left hand corner.

The Blues' first try came just before the half-hour mark, slicing open the Rebels' defence with slick play which allowed Melani Nanai to get over out wide. The successful conversion by Ihaia West closed the gap to just one point.

However the Rebels were determined not to go into the break without extending the lead, and following another penalty-goal to Harris pushed forward and again broke the Blues' line with Smith scoring after just a minute earlier forcing a turnover.

The Blues were able to squeeze in another penalty before the buzzer.

"However, the Rebels went into the half-time break leading 18-10.

The visitors hit back straight away in the second half, making the most of a line-out penalty to quickly shift the ball towards the line – with reserve Jamison Gibson-Park crossing for the Blues' second try.

West's kick was again on target.

"However, it was the turn of the Rebels to hit back quickly, with Higginbotham spotting a gap to score after replacement hooker Tom Sexton gained valuable metres.

Sharp kicking by Harris, backing up the conversion with a penalty-goal, gave the Rebels an 11 point lead with 20 minutes on the clock.

Despite closing the gap to six points through a try to George Moala, the Blues were unable to hold back the Rebels' attack – with Shipperley earning the bonus point with the side's fourth try off a line-out, and Debreczeni scoring with one minute left as the Rebels reached 42 points – to equal their highest in their history.

Man of the match: Francis Saili and George Moala were powerful in the Blues' midfield, Akira Ioane added to his growing reputation with another strong showing, while Jamison Gibson-Park made a big impact off the bench. Colby Fainga'a was brilliant while he was on the field, Jack Debreczeni was solid at flyhalf, Dom Shipperley strong at centre and Scott Higginbotham as strong as ever. However, our award goes to Rebels flank Jordy Reid, who elevated himself into the Wallaby selection frame with another stand-out performance.

The scorers:

For the Rebels:

Tries: Fainga'a, Smith, Higginbotham, Shipperley, Debreczeni

Cons: Harris 4

Pens: Harris 3

For the Blues:

Tries: Nanai, Gibson-Park, Moala

Cons: West 2

Pen: West

Teams:

Rebels: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Tom English, 13 Dom Shipperley, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Sefanaia Naivalu, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7 Jordy Reid, 6 Colby Fainga'a, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith.

Replacements: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Tim Metcher, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Telusa Veainu.

Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Melani Nanai, 13 Francis Saili, 12 George Moala, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Steven Luatua (captain), 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Replacements: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Sam Prattley, 19 Josh Bekhuis, 20 Joe Edwards, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Hamish Northcott.

Referee: Angus Gardner

Assistant referees: James Leckie, Graham Cooper

TMO: Ian Smith