Ruthless Rebels make light work of lacklustre Sharks

THE Sharks sunk to their second loss on tour yesterday as the Melbourne Rebels blew them away, on the scoreboard at least, 46-14. It was a game that the Rebels dominated from the kick off, but one that the Sharks held onto a lot better than the scoreline suggested.

The first half – of the first half – was a rude awakening for the Durban-based outfit who promised all week that their sole intention was to start well. They were easily cut apart by a brutal Rebels attacking line that broke through at will, splitting defences, and breaking tackles.

Possession, and especially territory, was lacking again early on, just like last week in Canberra, as the Sharks were asked to defend valiantly for most of the half. They got away with a few lucky calls from the ref, and managed an important try to slightly shift the momentum, but it was never enough as the Rebels got on a roll.

The home side was ruthless, but a little too slack in their execution early on, butchering a few golden opportunities. This kept the game alive for the Sharks who grew in confidence from their solid defence through the first 40 minutes.

The Sharks managed to defend their way to a bit of confidence as they wrested the momentum briefly away from the home side, but it was short lived as the Rebels gradually built up an impressive lead through the second stanza that was probably over inflated with regards to the Sharks’ efforts.

Reece Hodge was the first to add some points in the game as the Rebels earned an early penalty by breaking through the Sharks’ defence, leaving them scrambling.

After having to deal with some broken field play, wide balls, and devastating line breaks, the Sharks were undone within 10 minutes by some traditional rugby as the Rebels burst through with a rolling maul for the first try.

The Sharks got away with a huge lifeline when a well worked try by the Rebels was ruled out for obstruction, but they still had to take a hit in the guts as Curwin Bosch was yellow carded off another Rebels line break as he slapped the ball down.

It did finally come for the Sharks, grabbing their chance to reply at the first instance. Lwazi Mvovo scored the try, powering over the line after some great interplay and short passing between backs and forwards.

Suddenly, there was a change in the wind, as the visitors were back in the game despite massive dominance from the home side.

But, with minutes to go to the break, the Rebels set a perfect replay of their first try as a runaway maul got over the line for the second touchdown.

The second half had a lot more energy from the Sharks but they were punished at scrum time which helped the Rebels push their lead out by 11 points with a penalty.

The game was then finely held in the balance with the Rebels finding it hard to crack the Sharks’ defence. But, Will Genia’s fast thinking saw him take the line on and penetrate the defence for the first Rebels try not from a maul.

As the Sharks got more desperate to gains some points, time ticking away, the mistakes came thick and fast, and the Rebels pounced. A breakaway try with about 15 minutes to go for Billy Meakes seemed to spell the end of the visitors’ efforts.

The Rebels added yet another try, rubbing salt in the wound, and making the scoreline look a little atrocious. Marius Louw did add a second try to his team’s name in consolation but it was almost instantly cancelled up by a final Rebels try on the whistle, finishing 46-14 in what is the biggest win for the side in their entire history.

Lwazi Mvovo