Rebels fall to Canes
THE Melbourne Rebels have suffered Super Round heartbreak, falling to the Hurricanes 39-33 in Melbourne.
Captain Ardie Savea has led the Hurricanes to a heart-stopping Super Rugby Pacific win over Melbourne, apologising after the match for threatening a Rebels player after getting yellow carded.
The Hurricanes edged a fearless Rebels outfit 39-33 in their Super Round clash at AAMI Park on Friday night, delivering another tight loss for the home side from two games.
Richard Hardwick scored twice within seven minutes for Melbourne to trail by just a point but a 77th minute try by Hurricanes ace Jordie Barrett sealed the win.
Savea was both hero and villain, scoring two early tries and setting up another as the visitors roared to a 24-7 halftime lead. But then the All Blacks weapon was given a yellow card for his involvement in an all-in brawl just before break.
With the spite draining out of the match Melbourne were first on the board in the second half with winger Lachie Anderson winning the race to a kick by young five-eighth Carter Gordon into the ingoal.
Gordon himself then picked up a five-pointer after he scooped up a loose Hurricanes ball and raced more than 70 metres, chased all the way by Savea. Hodge added the extras to close the gap to 24-19 after 56 minutes.
The Hurricanes kicked away again with Barrett booting a penalty and then firing a pass for flying winger Salesi Rayasi to dive across in the corner.
Hardwick’s efforts gave the Rebels hope but the Hurricanes held on to savour their second Australian scalp after accounting for the Reds in round one.
Melbourne Rebels 33 (Tries: Wilkin, Anderson, Gordon, Hardwick 2; Cons: Hodge 4)
Hurricanes 39 (Tries: A. Savea 2, Moorby, Rayasi, Barrett; Cons: Barrett 4; Pens: Barrett 2)