Super Rugby AU: Slick Melbourne Rebels punish woeful Waratahs

The Rebels schooled a woefully undisciplined NSW side at the SCG as Matt Toomua and Marika Koroibete punished their every mistake.

Melbourne Rebels playmaker Matt Toomua takes on the NSW Waratahs defence in the Super Rugby AU game at the SCG. PIcture: AFP

The Melbourne Rebels schooled a woefully undisciplined NSW side 29-10 at the SCG on Friday night, as Wallabies stars Matt Toomua and Marika Koroibete punished the Waratahs’ every mistake in what quickly became a one-sided contest.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, who seemed to be battling referee Angus Gardner every bit as much as he was the Rebels, and reserve backrower Jed Holloway were both yellow carded for team fouls, one in each half, as the penalty count mounted to 17-10 against the Tahs. Mostly, it would have to be said, they were fully deserved.

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It had shaped as a tense, seesawing battle throughout the first half, with the lead changing hands four times before the Rebels poked their noses in front, 12-10, as Toomua kicked his fourth penalty of the half. It would be a lead they would never surrender, with halfback Ryan Louwrens being driven over for Melbourne’s first try just four minutes shy of the halftime break.

Marika Koroibete of the Rebels breaks through the NSW defence at the SCG. Picture: Getty Images

Yet any semblance of an even contest evaporated as the second half began with the Rebels holding a 19-10 advantage. In every sense, it became a Melbourne procession as they dominated the second stanza. Possession-wise, it was 80-20 at the 70-minute mark; in terms of territory, 72-28.

It became almost inevitable that the Waratahs defence would crack, so much tackling were they forced to do. In the end, the Tahs did well to hold out until the 77th minute when Koroibete, slipping into his favourite role of halfback at the ruck, stepped through the tackle of Ned Hanigan 25m from the line and then palmed off acting NSW captain Alex Newsome for the simplest of tries in his 50th Super Rugby match.

As Toomua rounded off a faultless night with the boot, kicking six from six as he landed the conversion, the Rebels had run up their most number of points ever against the Tahs, winning 29-10.

For a team that has been on the road now for five weeks, it was a spirited display from Melbourne and one which should bring a smile at last to the face of embattled coach Dave Wessels. The victory takes the Rebels into equal third place with the Tahs on six points, behind the Queensland Reds and the Brumbies.

Their previous match, before their bye last weekend, the Rebels played out an inept 18-all draw with Queensland, but from the outset at the SCG they looked purposeful and in control, albeit with their lineout functioning only marginally better than NSW’s.

If there is one thing that Dave Rennie, now in isolation in Sydney after his recent arrival from New Zealand, must address on his release from quarantine, it is the shameful throwing of the Australian hookers.

At least Melbourne hooker Jordan Uelese had a legitimate excuse, twisting his ankle in warm-up but still playing close to an hour with the injury heavily strapped.

“We had a really good week’s prep and it felt like it paid off from the first minute,” said Rebels skipper Dane Haylett-Petty. “We felt like we did play and put them under pressure.”

Was it only a week ago that the Tahs had turned on their best performance for 2020 by pushing the Brumbies to the limit before losing 24-23, the winning Canberra try only coming in the 77th minute?

Holloway was on the field for barely 45 seconds before he made the next infringement in a long line of them and found himself sent to the sin bin for the earlier sins of the Tahs. And though Gordon initially brought energy to the halfback role, the Tahs attack quickly petered out.

Louwrens and Toomua once again controlled play brilliantly from the halves for the Rebels, especially in the first half. In the second, Andrew Deegan took over at five-eighth in a reshuffle that followed a knee injury to Rebels fullback Haylett-Petty, but looked just a little ring rusty as several passes went astray.

NSW vice-captain Newsome could only bemoan the fact that once again the Tahs were their own worst enemy.

“It (discipline) has been a bit of an issue for us in this competition and it snuck in again today,” said Newsome who scored his team’s only try, from an intercepted pass in the seventh minute.

“A few rolling away penalties and offsides … it is really hurting us. They got the jump on us. Our game management is a work in progress each week but it’s that focus, that concentration to not give those other teams easy entry into our territory through simple errors.”