As was to be expected with a big clash across the road at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, there were not many fans packed into AAMI Park. There was very little for the home supporters to cheer about either. Although, the small pockets of Lions fans were certainly enjoying the fantastic brand of rugby that their side are playing. They were simply too strong for an injury ravaged Melbourne Rebels side who once again ‘battled bravely’ but to no avail. The Lions ran out 47-10 victors in the end.
Dominant Emirates Lions Pile the Pressure on Rebels
In an opening 40 minutes dominated by the Lions, it appeared as if the Rebels would escape to half time only seven points behind. That was before Courtnal Skosan ghosted over in the corner just before the siren, to stretch the lead 12 points. A lead that the Lions were definitely worthy of having looked threatening throughout with ball in hand.
The Rebels defended bravely to keep the South African side to just three tries. Marika Koroibete continues to impress since his conversion from league, with a number of crucial tackles and he looked dangerous on the few occasions the home side were in attack. But his efforts were simply not enough.
Melbourne Rebels Kicking Woes
A major factor in the Rebels struggles against the Lions was their inability to kick out of hand accurately, and with purpose. Too many times, clearing kicks failed to find touch or space. Having already seen the threats of Skosan and Sylvian Mahuza, the Rebels continued to kick possession away. In particular Ben Volavola was punished for a sloppy kick by Mahuza, aided by some even worse tackling.
The game plan clearly was focused on kicking out of danger areas but without the necessary accuracy, all it did was invite more pressure. Rebels head coach Tony McGahan suggested post-match that his players were kicking at the right time, but the execution was letting his side down along with the kick choice.
Convincing Win for the Lions
The Lions turned on the after burners in the second half, to run out convincing winners. They were clinical in the Rebels 22 meter area, and absorbed periods of pressure before breaking out to score some fantastic tries–although the Rebels aided them with the number of missed tackles in the game, and a yellow card to Cullum Retallick.
As ever in Super Rugby, arguments will be made against the quality of the Lions due to the fact that they won’t play any New Zealand franchise in the regular season. They, however, can only ‘play who SANZAAR put in front of them’ and the dominant Emirates Lions look once again to be contenders for the title. They were denied in the grand final last year, against the Hurricanes and whilst bigger tests await them in 2017, they impressed in Melbourne across the squad.
HIGHLIGHTS: @LionsRugbyUnion had too much firepower for @MelbourneRebels in Melbourne, running in seven tries https://t.co/3RYRxuaqnq
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby) May 6, 2017
Tony McGahan summed up his team efforts in a way that reflects their season not just this loss to the Lions;
“Tried hard… not good enough. Pretty simple.'”
“I thought we competed hard and our effort kept us in the game but if you looked at the elements of the game – catch, pass, fundamentals, they were far better and that really showed,” he told AAP.
Melbourne Rebels 10 – Try: English; Conversion: Hodge; Penalty: Hodge
Emirates Lions 47 – Tries: Smith, Cronjé, Skosan, Mahuza, Penalty Try, Volmink, Whiteley; Cons: Jantjies (5)
“Main Photo Credit”
