THE MELBOURNE REBELS stunned the Canterbury Crusaders 20-10 in the opening match of the Super 15 season this, notching the club’s first ever win outside Australia.
The Rebels — coached by former scored two tries to one and outmuscled a Crusaders side that struggled to shake the off-season rust, even with All Blacks legends Richie McCaw and Dan Carter in its ranks.
“I’m absolutely rapt with the boys, they went hard and credit to them,” said Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham, whose committed effort was at the heart of his side’s win.
The Crusaders are notoriously poor starters, usually clicking into gear at the sharp end of the season, but skipper Matt Todd left no doubt the loss in front of his home crowd stung.
“We just weren’t good enough tonight, we’ll have to have a look at that game and make some improvements, that’s for sure,” he said.
The Rebels who have been wooden spooners in two of the four seasons they have competed, were given little chance against Super Rugby’s most successful club with seven titles.
The Australians were on the back foot after just two minutes against last year’s finalists when scrum-half Nic Stirzaker was sin-binned for stamping on McCaw at the bottom of a ruck.
Carter, playing his last Super rugby season before a move to France after the World Cup, notched the first points of the season with a penalty.
But the unfancied Rebels then took on the Crusaders through the middle of the park, setting up lock Lopeti Timani to surge over the line for a try.
Fullback Mike Harris, an off-season recruit from the Queensland Reds, slotted the conversion to make it 7-3.
But Harris fumbled when he kicked the ball out on the full from the restart, leading to a Crusaders’ rolling maul that shredded the Rebels defence to give hooker Ben Funnell a try.
The hosts still went into the half-time down 10-13 after conceding two penalties. The second half began as an arm wrestle but the momentum swung the Rebels way when Stirzaker pounced on a loose Carter kick and took off for a runaway try.
Harris again added the extras to make it 20-10 with 14 minutes to go.
The Crusaders laid seige to the Rebels tryline but the defence held firm to seal the biggest win of the Rebels’ short history.
- © AFP 2015
The great irish sporting achievement of the year ! And RTE didn’t even show it what a joke they are !! Well done Robert up the rebels
How did anyone know the man was gonna win the world championships, let alone RTE ?
Well Ireland was not awash with competitors in this championship they should have shown it.
Shame Dan Martin didn’t get a mention after the fantastic year he has had
aye – would have thought Dan Martin’s success was worth a mention.
Unfortunately there’s still a cloud over cycling, and trust is a major issue.
For walking?? WOW. That’s not a sport! It’s just a slow method of transport!
You lack intelligence…
Why don’t you try WALKING a six minute mile for 32 miles.
Heffernan can walk quicker than you can run,go back to bed n dream about walking a six minute mile…….m
6 min a mile. Christ. I’ll be doing well to do that on me bike
I couldn’t run a six minute mile never mind walk one. It’s an unbelievable achievement.
How can Clare be team of the year over the Dublin footballers? Clare were in the relegation final, got hammered by Cork in the Munster semi final and eventually were very lucky to win the All Ireland through the back door. Dublin won the League, Leinster and the All Ireland at their ease. Add to that there is a lot more competition in the football than hurling it’s a much much bigger achivement from Dublin.
Because hurling is a art unlike Dublin culchies playing bog ball !
Surely it was a bigger achievement for an unfancied Clare team to win from nowhere, than Dublin to win Sam from the position of favorites?
Dublin had a great year, and fair play to them, but Clare came from nowhere to win… Deserved in my opinion
Yes but most of the heavyweight teams in hurling had a brutal year, like Tipp and Kilkenny. If Clare had beaten even one of those their achievement would have been a bit more significant. It was an exciting year in the hurling but not great quality. Once we saw Tipp and Kilkenny getting beat we knew any team could win it. It doesn’t mean that team deserves to be classed as team of the year. If they had gone on a giantkilling run through the championship they possibly would deserve to be team of the year but they didn’t and only won it through the back door. Dublin beat a lot of quality teams en route to winning every trophy and also winning the All Ireland through the front door.
Yeah, fair point…
Every hurling pundit/analyst/fan of hurling have all correctly stated that this year’s championship has been the best championship in years if not decades. The quality of all the games were at a standard not seen in years. The skill level this year reached summits never seen before and this Clare team was responsible for showing the world just what a game we have in this country. Press from all over the world reported on the magnificent spectacle that is hurling days after the all Ireland final.. As Mícheal O Mùiraghtead always says the all Ireland hurling final should be a bank holiday in Ireland as a day to commemorate our irishness. .. Now can anyone say the same about the other GAA sport that is a cross between rugby league/soccer with only hint it’s GAA is by the scoring… To say it’s a poor cousin of hurling would be a understatement… It’s more akin to the bad old days of having a relation that lives in the big house that no one talks about….
Those comments were only made because people were fed up of seeing Kilkenny and Tipp in every final. Clare would have been beat easily by Kilkenny or Tipp in their prime or possibly even Tipp or Kilkenny at the standard they were at this year.
Wexford came so close to beating this so called great Clare team but yet nobody would rate Wexford.
This Clare team wouldn’t be a patch on the Clare team of the 90′s or the Kilkenny team of the past decade or the Cork team of 04-05 or the Tipp team of 2010.
I can see why people and the media got carried away this year becausr it was fresh, open and exciting but that doesn’t mean it was top quality hurling. Loads of goals is often a result of poor teams not great teams.
It’s up to Clare to prove the doubters wrong and win another one, this time through the front door but I can’t see this happening as I think it was a flash in the pan helped enormously by Tipp, Kilkenny and Galway all having brutal years.
Only time will tell
Kevin,
Nothing like a bit of hurling snobbery to lighten up a Wednesday morning eh
It’s amazing Robert isn’t it how one All Ireland win and the supporters of that county think it was the greatest ever victory by the greatest ever team with the greatest amount of skill ever. All the while ignoring the brilliant teams, especially the ones who won more than one and through the front door, that have come and gone over the past few decades and before.
One All Ireland win through the back door beating one team that has won an All Ireland in the padt decade does not mean they are the greatest team this year not to even mention the laughable EVER
Mike your comments on Wexford being a poor team, are you forgetting that Dublin could beat Kilkenny in 70 minutes but they had to go to a replay to beat Wexford. I’m sorry but it’s obvious that you are a bitter man. You talk about Tipperary, Kilkenny and Galway but they simply weren’t good enough this year. Clare could have met Kilkenny or Tipperary this year if these teams had beaten Limerick or Cork but they couldn’t beat them. The teams you mentioned were the best on 2012 but in 2013 Limerick, Dublin, Clare and Cork were the best, I know you find that hard to accept but that’s what happened. Maybe next year it might revert back to the way it was a couple of years ago but I have feeling these teams will be around for a long time so you better get used to it.
All that makes Clare’s win even more remarkable…
Dublin are the coming force and played the best hurling this year. Clare were very lucky along the way. I can see Dublin and Limerick improving all the time and Cork will be in the mix but I really can’t see Clare winning anothef one for a while. I have nothing to be bitter towards Clare, I went to both finals and roared for them. I’m just calling it as I see it now.
Only a fool would say Tipp, Kilkenny and Galway won’t be back strong next year. More than likely the winner will come from those 3. They will enjoy people writing them off but I suppose there is a big dufference between bitter minded people on here hoping they are finished and real hurling people knowing that they won’t be gone away for too long.
I hope it stays as open Pat as long as Dublin win it
Here we go the usual ‘It must have been a poor quality championship because it wasn’t won by Kilkenny, Tipperary or Cork’ rubbish
But the honest hurling supporter will see that it wasn’t a great standard year topped off by two very exciting All Ireland finals but not of great quality. The Clare v Limerick All Ireland semi was very poor. The Munster and Leinster Finals were awful but great for Dublin and Limerick. In fact most of the Munster games were poor except for Tipp v Lim. Most of the Leinster games were poor too but great excitement with Dublin beating Kilkenny but again the hurling was very poor. The only real high quality hurling game played this year, in my opinion, was Cork v Dublin.
What do they say about opinions and a**holes Mike… Everybody has one!!!
Including your own Kevin is it or is your opinion immune because you think what you say goes? Why should everyone agree with what you have to say? Don’t let different opinions upset you, it’s all part of life!
Kevin the enforcer of his opinions. Either agree with him or you are wrong. Do you go around trying to shove your opinions down peoples throats outside of here? I hope not but id sat you are that type of person
Idiot Kevin
Journal, gives outsiders a look at the Irish psyche and it’s not good. ps I don’t like Katie Taylor just sayin is all.
Don’t like that bloke myself
That comment reinforces you even lack more intelligence now.
Thanks Vin. You steal oxygen from humanity
I exchange it…..
Some man for one man!
That’s a surprise. Thought he was a non- runner.
A medal for walking
Dubs giving out about a Culchie game !! Bog ball now top sport in Dublin !! Dog & manger comes to mind
bizarre sport!-totally unnatural