Rebels coach Tony McGahan loses patience with Debreczini

Melbourne Rebels coach Tony McGahan’s patience with five-eighth Jack Debreczini looks to have finally run out

The Rebels’ Nic Stirzaker is tackled by Sam Cane of the Chiefs on Saturday night.

Melbourne Rebels coach Tony McGahan’s patience with five-eighth Jack Debreczini looks to have finally run out and almost certainly he will be dropped from Sunday afternoon’s clash against the Western Force at AAMI Park.

McGahan declined to comment on Debreczini’s performance against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday night, but he has steadfastly supported his five-eighth through thick and thin this season, so it may be that his silence is ominous indeed.

Until now, the Rebels coach has had precious few alternatives at playmaker and, besides, Debreczini at his best had qualities worth exploring. There are few other five-eighths in Super Rugby with the physical size to take the ball so powerfully to the line, while his extraordinary kicking range — both out of hand and off the tee — meant that, potentially, he was almost the perfect package at No. 10.

Indeed, the season began with many critics believing the Rebels might provide the Australian halves combination this year in Nick Stirzaker and Debreczini. Increasingly, that is looking unlikely.

With Mike Harris offering an experienced option at 10, both as playmaker and goalkicker, the time may have come for a change, though not necessarily a permanent one. Debreczini could come back after the June Test window for the final three games against the Stormers, Crusaders and Reds, though the failure of the Rebels to win in Hamilton on Saturday night meant that they are virtually finished as playoff contenders.

He was not the only member of the Rebels side that failed to come to terms with the demands of the Chiefs. It should have come as no surprise to the Rebels pack that the Chiefs would physically bash them. That’s the New Zealand way and the Highlanders and Hurricanes had come after them in precisely the same fashion. Yet, with one standout exception, the Rebels forwards were caught out badly.

The exception, of course, was Test flanker Sean McMahon. “He loved the challenge,” said McGahan. “This is why we come to New Zealand, because of that battle. You have to learn to love it and to test yourself against it. Sean was outstanding.”

Out in the backs, at inside ­centre, Reece Hodge too was revelling in the contest. McGahan is inclined to think that racing Hodge into Wallabies colours for the June Tests and Rugby Championship might be a tad early, especially as this is his debut season of Super Rugby. But the way he took the fight to the Chiefs, revelling in the contest, convinced him that Hodge would be an ideal player to take away on the end-of-year spring tour.

“He has athleticism and toughness and he competes hard and he’s got some really good skills,” said McGahan. “That’s where you find out about blokes, in matches like that. He was battling with a cork when he scored that runaway try and he beat James Lowe, which takes some doing.”

McGahan marvelled at one passage of play that Chiefs five-eighth Aaron Cruden, fullback Damian McKenzie and their teammates strung together, which featured eight sublime exhibitions of skills in barely a 20-second period of play and wondered how to get his players to that level. “When things are going well and we’re going forward we can do that. But when you’re operating behind the gain line, it’s very difficult to do.”

For the Western Force, however, there were only player losses to go with the pain of their four-point defeat at the hands of the Blues. Their skipper, Matt Hodgson’s season is over, after he dis­located his left shoulder.