James O'Connor is tackled during the second half of the Super Rugby match between the Melbourne Rebels and the Southern King. Picture: Klein Michael Source: Herald Sun
MELBOURNE coach Damien Hill says the Rebels have only themselves to blame after the Southern Kings snatched a last-gasp Super Rugby victory at AAMI Park last night.
Melbourne was denied a historic first victory against South African opposition after sharpshooter Demetri Catrakilis kicked a post-siren field goal to cruelly deny Hill's men 30-27.
MATCH CENTRE: Rebels v Southern Kings with video highlights and match stats
"We lost that rather than they won it," Hill lamented. "In the last 20 (minutes), we went away from what got us into a winning position.
"At this level, near enough is not nearly good enough. There is a level of execution required at this level to be successful."
Under increasing pressure with two wins from eight games after a string of narrow early-season defeats, Hill has vowed to make changes ahead of the Crusaders' game in two weeks.
Behind 27-17 in the second half, the Kings chipped away at Melbourne's lead before a dramatic finale which saw the Rebels reduced to 14 men.
In a tense finale, the Kings muscled their way over for a momentum-building try before winning a scrum feed deep in Melbourne territory after the final siren had sounded.
Demetri Catrakilis scores a drop goal as the final play giving the Kings a three point win over the Melbourne Rebels. Picture: Klein Michael
In the last play of the game, Catrakilis coolly slotted home a morale-destroying field goal to deny the Rebels.
It was the cruellest blow for Melbourne, who had earlier rebounded from a 14-0 leeway, outclassing the South Africans for much of the contest.
But the match turned when Reid was yellow card for a tackle infringement, leaving the Rebels vulnerable to the Kings firepower.
Hill would not be drawn on the sending off other than to say: "A yellow card at this level is points."
Earlier, the Rebels had been rocked by winger Ronnie Cooke's try after a huge run by lock Rynier Bernardo.
Catrakilis' conversion gave the underdogs a 7-0 lead.
Melbourne's woes deepened inside 15 minutes when scrumhalf Shaun Venter produced a stunning run - with more than a hint of obstruction - from a lineout to touch down.
Jordie Reid gets a yellow card late in the match. Picture: Klein Michael
Catrakilis' extras saw the Kings steaming to a 14-0 buffer.
Worse still, Melbourne fullback Richard Kingi was forced off with a leg problem after landing awkwardly in a tackle.
The Rebels hit back with a fine try to Ged Robinson before James O'Connor converted.
The Rebels then clawed their way to within four points after Devin Oosthuizen was pinged for an illegal entry at the breakdown, only for Catrakilis to return the favour inside a minute.
Virtually anchored in Kings' territory, the Rebels poured on the pressure to draw a string of penalties and they were deservedly rewarded with Angus Roberts' maiden Super Rugby try and O'Connor's conversion for a 17-all scoreline.
Melbourne took the lead for the first time when O'Connor drilled a penalty.
Growing in confidence, the Rebels surged to a 10-point gap when Mitch Inman crossed before O'Connor extended the lead with a conversion.
Catrakilis sliced the deficit to seven before the Kings upped the ante, pinning the Rebels on their line after turning down the chance to have two penalty kicks.
With the match hanging in the balance, Melbourne had several chances to bury the Kings.
Probing runs by Inman, Scott Fuglistaller and Reid threatened to end the contest, but the Kings clung on.
Roberts was fortunate not to be sent off after obstructing Catrakllis. before Reid was marched for deliberately infringing.
Reduced to 14 men, the Rebels were powerless to stop Wimple van der Walt crossing before Catrakilis levelled the scores with just under 4mins to play.
And then, soon after, Catrakillis added the contest-sealing points.
Three things we learned about the Rebels
1. The lineout - often problematic for the Rebels - worked a treat. The combination of Ged Robinson and either Scott Higginbotham and Hugh Pyle was outstanding.
2. Scott Fuglistaller was dynamite at openside, poaching expertly at the breakdown and making a string of line breaks and off-loading with telling effect.
3. Rory Sidey, Nic Henderson, Hugh Pyle, Luke Jones and Scott Higginbotham were excellent but, as good as they in linking with the backs, nothing could save a 14-man team from the cruellest of cuts. This stands as one of the toughest losses in Rebel history
SOUTHERN KINGS 30 (Ronald Cooke, Wimpie van der Walt, Shaun Venter tries Demetri Catrakilis 3 cons 2 pens drop goal) bt MELBOURNE REBELS 27 (Mitch Inman, Angus Roberts, Ged Robinson tries James O'Connor 3 cons 2 pens) at AAMI Park. Referee: Andrew Lees. Crowd: 10,416.
No comments:
Post a Comment