The Melbourne Rebels yesterday survived an Otago Highlanders counterattack to record their maiden Super Rugby win in Dunedin, New Zealand, as the Waratahs broke through for their first victory of the season.
The Rebels scored four tries to three, including two intercepts for wing Andrew Kellaway, in a hard-fought 28-22 victory for their second win of the campaign.
In Sydney, the Waratahs jumped quickly out of the blocks to post a big early lead before grinding out a 29-17 win over South Africa’s Golden Lions.
After a three-try burst to go 21-0 up, the Rebels were forced to dig deep in on defense as the Highlanders roared back in front of a vocal home crowd.
“It went back and forth, we had all the momentum in the first half and they had everything in the second half,” Rebels skipper Dane Haylett-Petty said. “It was just a great clash.”
Highlanders captain James Lentjes was stretchered off in the first half with an apparent broken leg. Lentjes, 28, who only became captain this year after the departure of All Blacks Ben Smith and Luke Whitelock, suffered what seems certain to be a season-ending injury.
The hosts attempted to up the tempo after the break, but Kellaway again pounced on a loose pass and took off from deep within his own half for his second intercept try.
The Highlanders ground out a try from Scott Gregory, but the debutant was sinbinned moments later for dangerous play, stalling their comeback hopes.
In Sydney, the Waratahs skipped out to a 19-3 lead midway through the first half after tries to Gus Bell, Lachlan Swinton and Jack Dempsey.
However, the Johannesburg-based Lions fought back to trail 19-10 at halftime after a converted try by Marnus Schoeman.
The home side increased their lead to 24-10 with a spectacular try from James Ramm, who dived over in the corner after the ball shot through eight pairs of hands from a turnover on halfway.
However, the Lions kept in touch with Schoeman’s second try before the Waratahs clinched a bonus-point win with a try to Tetera Faulkner in the final minutes.
“Great win and a confidence-booster for us. It’s been a tough few weeks for us, but it was really important to come out and get a win in front of our home fans,” Waratahs back Kurtley Beale said.
Lions skipper Elton Jantjies said that his team recovered well from conceding three early tries.
“We gave ourselves a chance by just staying in the game, but critically a few stupid penalties went against us toward the end,” he said.
GAMES MOVED OVER VIRUS
Australia are to host two Super Rugby home games of the Sunwolves after they were relocated from Japan yesterday due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Sunwolves were due to host the ACT Brumbies in Osaka on March 8, but that game is to take place two days earlier in Wollongong, south of Sydney.
Their clash with New Zealand powerhouse Canterbury Crusaders in Tokyo has also been moved to Australia, with that game to be played in Brisbane on March 14.
“It was very clear that we had to make changes to the match schedule to conform to Japanese government requirements and health authority directives,” Super Rugby chief Andy Marinos said. “The relocation of these matches has involved an incredible amount of detailed logistical and operational work, and these efforts reflect the great spirit within the rugby family at times like these.”
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