The Melbourne Rebels and the Western Force have met 16 times in Super Rugby, the Rebels have won 12 matches and lost four.
The Rebels have played seven of their designated home Super Rugby games against the Force, winning five times and losing twice.
- The last nine Super Rugby games between the Melbourne Rebels and the Western Force have been decided by single-figure margins; the Rebels have seven of those wins (L2).
- The Rebels have won three of their last four Super Rugby games at AAMI Park; however, they were defeated at the venue 44-19 by the Queensland Reds in their last fixture there (Super Rugby AU Round 7, 2021).
- The Rebels have made 10+ clean breaks in each of their last four Super Rugby games after not having done so in any of their previous seven games.
- The Western Force have had an average of 17 minutes and 33 seconds of time in possession per game this Super Rugby AU season, the highest of any team; the Rebels (14m 2secs) have had the lowest.
- Marika Koroibete has gained 82 metres per game this Super Rugby AU season, the most of any player in the competition.
We are waiting for the kick-off.
In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway at AAMI Park, Melbourne, for this important Super Rugby AU clash. The winner of this game will probably finish third on the log, and land a playoff qualifying spot.
2.00: PENALTY! Reece Hodge opens the scoring from the halfway line with a monster kick. 3-0
3.00: The Rebels win a penalty, and kick to the 22.
5.00: Melbourne goes right to left, and seven phases, before Lewis Holland is tackled into touch.
6.00: Force wins the lineout and clears the danger.
8.00: Domingo Miotti clears the danger after Pone Fa’amausili is caught offside.
9.00: A knock-on by the visitors from a poor lineout throw gives the home team an attacking scrum.
11.00: Frank Lomani boots the ball into touch, but there was a knock-on before he kicked the ball away. A big scrum by the Force earns themselves a second scrum penalty after Pone Fa’amausili collapses the set-piece.
13.00: Both teams are losing possession trying to play expansive rugby. The turnovers led to several kicking duels before Jordan Olowofela’s miscued clearance gives the Rebels an attacking lineout just outside the visitor’s 22.
14.00: Referee Damon Murphy nails the Perth team for a breakdown infringement; Matt To’omua calls for the tee.
14.00: PENALTY! To’omua chips the ball over the crossbar to double his side’s lead. 6-0
15.00: Robert Leota is pinged after the restart, Domingo Miotti calls for the tee.
16.00: PENALTY! Miotti halves the deficit. 6-3
17.00: Josh Kemeny is taken out in the air at the lineout, Hodge kicks to the corner.
20.00: Jeremy Thrush pinches James Hanson’s throw, and the Force clears the danger. It’s been a sluggish first quarter in Melbourne, both teams making too many errors with ball-in-hand, while both set-pieces look shaky.
21.00: Byron Ralston is down after hitting his head attempting a tackle on Lewis Holland, looks like he will not return. The Rebels went 11 phases, stretching the visitors, but Leota knocked on near the touchline.
21.00: Richard Kahui is on for Ralston, who after several minutes of treatment, leaves the field on a stretcher. To’omua calls for the tee.
22.00: PENALTY! To’omua makes no mistake. 9-3
24.00: A nine-phase Force attack ends with Marika Koroibete isolating Jordan Olowofela at the ruck to allow Hodge to clear the danger.
25.00: Hodge knocks on a high ball on the opposition’s 22 – scrum to the visitors on their 22.
27.00: Tom Robertson gives away a penalty at the ruck because he did not support his weight after tackling Reece Hodge. To’omua will take a shot from distance, slightly to the left of the posts.
28.00: MISS! To’omua’s kick slams off the lefthand post and bounces out. The Force wins back possession, and clear to just outside their 22. 9-3
29.00: YELLOW CARD! Kane Koteka hits Michael Wells with a dangerously high tackle. Koteka made no attempt to wrap his arms and is off for 10 minutes. 9-3
30.00: James Hanson concedes a penalty after the Rebels opted not to take the points.
32.00: Both teams’ lineouts are a lottery, so is their passing and catching. This is another terrible game being served up by these sides: A bore-fest.
33.00: Pone Fa’amausili is offside, Miotti will take a shot to run down the clock.
34.00: PENALTY! Miotti makes no mistake from in front. 9-6
35.00: Richard Hardwick wins the penalty after the restart after Richard Kahui is off his feet. Some backchat by the visitors sees Mr. Murphy march Sampson’s men backward.
36.00: PENALTY! To’omua, from a similar spot as the kick he missed, curls the ball through the posts. 12-6
39.00: Joe Powell’s midfield break from around a ruck sets up a multi-phase attack inside the Force’s 22, but another terrible pass is dropped into touch.
41.00: Nearly halftime, which cannot come soon enough.
The halftime score is Melbourne Rebels 12 Western Force 6
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway down under.
42.00: To’omua kicks a penalty to the corner.
43.00: Nothing comes of the attack. The Rebels went nowhere with the driving maul before To’omua throws the ball over Josh Kemeny’s head and into touch.
45.00: Pone Fa’amausili breaks from midfield after a deft pass by To’omua, but the prop makes the wrong pass, which stalls the attack. Twelve phases later, the Force win another turnover, and clear.
49.00: Frank Lomani thinks he will score, but the ref blows the whistle because of a knock-on at the previous scrum.
52.00: PENALTY! Miotti closes the gap to three. 12-9
57.00: The Force has been better since the restart, but they, like their hosts, cannot turn any attacks into points.
60.00: We enter the last quarter still try-less as both teams try to bore the other into a mistake.
63.00: PENALTY! To’omua extends. 15-9
67.00: Still no tries, but loads more mistakes.
71.00: MISS! Miotti misses an important kick as the clock ticks down. 15-9
74.00: The Force eschew a kick at goal, and opt for a dreaded lineout. They do, however, win a penalty at the set-piece, and kick to the corner.
76.00: TRY! Tim Anstee crashes over the whitewash from a powerful driving maul. We have a TRY! 15-14
78.00: CONVERSION! Miotti puts the Force ahead for the first time. 15-16
82.00: MISS! Reece Hodge misses a last-gasp dropkick, and the Force claims the unlikely win. Anstee hit Hodge very late, but the referee had already blown his whistle to end the game; it was a dirty hit by the try-scorer. Game over!
FULL TIME
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The final score is Melbourne Rebels 15 (12) Western Force 16 (6)
Scorers
Melbourne Rebels
Tries –
Pen – Hodge, To’omua (4)
Con –
Drop –
Cards –
Western Force
Tries – Anstee
Pen – Miotti (3)
Con – Miotti
Drop –
Cards – Koteka (Yellow, 29′)
Match Officials
Referee: Damon Murphy
Assistant Ref 1: Amy Perrett
Assistant Ref 2: James Quinn
TMO: James Leckie
Teams
Melbourne Rebels
15 Reece Hodge, 14 Frank Lomani, 13 Stacey Ili, 12 Lewis Holland, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Matt To’omua (captain), 9 Joe Powell, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Richard Hardwick, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 Trevor Hosea, 4 Robert Leota, 3 Pone Fa’amausili, 2 James Hanson, 1 Cabous Eloff
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Steven Cummins, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Tom Pincus, 23 Jeral Skelton
Western Force
15 Jack McGregor, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin (captain), 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Tomás Lezana, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Feleti Kaitu’u, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Angus Wagner, 18 Kieran Longbottom, 19 Ryan McCauley, 20 Tim Anstee, 21 Brynard Stander, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Richard Kahui
