The Rebels have played the Sunwolves just three times in Super Rugby since they both joined the tournament in 2016.
In those three Super Rugby matches, the Rebels have been the winner in all matches.
- The Rebels have won all three previous Super Rugby clashes with the Sunwolves, those wins all coming by margins of 20+ points.
- In Round 7 the Sunwolves picked up their first ever Super Rugby victory on Australian soil at the seventh attempt thanks in large part to a Semisi Masirewa hat-trick.
- After victory last time out against the Waratahs, the Sunwolves will be aiming to record back to back victories in Super Rugby for just the second time (May 2018).
- Sunwolves duo Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco and Gerhard van den Heever have made more carries (76) and metres (608) respectively than anyone else in Super Rugby 2019.
- Quade Cooper already has eight try assists to his name for the Rebels this season, three more than any other player in Super Rugby in 2019.
- Jack Maddocks is the tournament’s top try-scorer with eight.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kickoff.
In the meantime why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEEP! We are underway at AAMI Park, Melbourne.
2.00: Semisi Masirewa kicks the ball out on the full from outside his 22. Good attacking lineout for the hosts, who have a penalty advantage for an offside’s at the ruck.
3.00: Quade Cooper kicks to the corner. Five phases of slow ball end with another penalty to the home team. Angus Cottrell calls for a scrum in the middle of the park in the 22.
5.00: Will Genia’s little grubber is kicked over the dead-ball line by Gerhard van den Heever. The Sunwolves put the Rebels’ scrum under pressure, but the home team have another scrum.
7.00: TRY! Reece Hodge crashes over from close-range. Marika Koroibete went route one, first. Genia recycled quickly and played the fullback in. 5-0
7.00: CONVERSION! Cooper adds the extras from in front. 7-0
8.00: Koroibete is penalised at the breakdown allowing Hayden Parker to kick to the corner.
9.00: Anaru Rangi and Cottrell are both pinged for collapsing the maul. Parker kicks to the corner, again.
10.00: Waisted opportunity by the Sunwolves, who botch their throw. Cooper clears, but not too far, giving the visitors another lineout near the goal line.
11.00: Oh dear! Jaba Bregvadze overthrows a jumper, Cooper clears, but not past his 22.
12.00: The Sunwolves get another penalty. They have already had two goes, botching the lineout, twice. Parker will have a shot.
14.00: PENALTY! Parker kicks his 33rd successful kick (he’s 28/28, this season). 7-3
15.00: Koroibete tackles Van den Heever in the air from the restart. Parker bangs the ball near halfway.
16.00: TRY! Hodge at the double! Koroibete is involved in everything, his pressure forces Jason Emery to knock on. Tom English drifts inside from Cooper’s pass and ghosts through the gap. Hodge calls for the pass, on the outside, and English puts him away. 12-3
18.00: CONVERSION! Cooper splits the uprights. 14-3
19.00: The Rebels dominate the scrum, but referee Nic Berry allows the shift, calling for a reset instead of penalising the front rows.
20.00: That is strange. Pauliasi Manu was penalised, but the Sunwolves had the better of the scrum, which the Rebels botched.
21.00: The Sunwolves are on the counter-attack. Emery’s kick was chased by Ryohei Yamanaka, but he was ankle-tapped. Cottrell is caught offsides. Parker goes to the corner.
23.00: Adam Coleman steals the lineout throw at the back of the set-piece. It was a great lift, great catch, getting in front of Hendrick Tui. That’s the third lost lineout by the visitors. Scrum to the hosts. Hodge kicks to halfway.
24.00: OH DEAR! The skipper Pryor knocks on from the first lineout his side has won. Rebels have an attacking scrum inside the opposition’s half. The scrum is reset.
25.00: TRY! Cooper’s stab-kick is gathered by Billy Meakes after a mix-up between scrumhalf Kaito Shigeno and fullback Yamanaka, and the centre scores under the posts. 19-3
26.00: CONVERSION! Cooper becomes the 11th player to pass 900 Super Rugby points with his third conversion. 21-3
29.00: Genia gives away a penalty inside his 22. The Sunwolves go quickly and are attacking the goal line.
30.00: NO TRY! Masirewa is held-up by Tom English from close-range. Wonderful work by English. The Sunwolves have two options for two infringements for Genia offsides or Meakes offsides under the posts. Pryor opts for an attacking scrum next to the posts. Sunwolves need seven.
31.00: TRY! Parker combines with Emery before Masirewa’s fancy foot-work flummoxed Maddocks, and the winger dived in the corner to cap an excellent finish. 21-8
32.00: MISS! WHAT IS GOING ON? Parker misses his first kick this season, ending a run of 28 straight and 33 consecutive goals. 21-8
34.00: The Sunwolves have a penalty, Parker kicks into the enemy’s 22.
35.00: RUBBISH! Bregvadze overthrows inside the 22 for the third time. It’s the fourth lineout loss in a row. Time to substitute Bregvadze, off.
36.00: A knock on inside the Japanese half gives the visitors a scrum before the break.
38.00: Both teams have been sloppy, but the Sunwolves’ set-piece has been awful; they have lost four lineouts and been pinged once at the scrum. Some poor handling is gifting possession to Melbourne. Another knock on gives the home team an attacking scrum.
39.00: TRY! Cooper scores his 26th Super rugby try under the posts after Hodge is tackled before the goal line. Genia’s lovely pass to Meakes set up the score. The support runners for Dave Wessels’ men create all the five-pointers. 26-8
40.00: CONVERSION! Cooper converts his try. 28-8
The halftime score was Rebels 28 Sunwolves 8
41.00: PEEEEP! we are back underway in Melbourne, Australia.
42.00: The Sunwolves win a penalty, Shigeno takes it quickly before Masirewa chase and gathers a grubber but he steps out near halfway.
43.00: TRY! Masirewa beats Meakes, Maddocks and Rangi to score his second of the night and fifth in two games. Pryor and Tui were instrumental in the try, combining with Emery from midfield. 28-13
44.00: CONVERSION! Does Parker start another run? 28-15
46.00: Coleman takes the lineout. Rangi goes forward before the ball is kicked away to the Sunwolves, who knock on a rare attack.
48.00: English chase back after Yamanaka intercepted, stopping Maddocks from a sure-fire try. The Rebels come back and win a scrum after another Japanese knock on from a high kick.
51.00: A kicking duel ends with Masirewa taking a stray pass and giving the Sunwolves an attack inside the Melbourne 22.
52.00: The attack comes to nought. Cooper made two tackles in that series before Emery was penalised for taking a man out without the ball. Cooper clears the danger.
54.00: The Rebels must be careful, here. A converted try for the opposition will make it a six-point game; Tony Brown’s men are not out of this despite being poor, this evening. Hugh Roach is penalised for offside, Parker kicks to the 22. The Rebels have given away eight of the last 10 penalties, something to watch.
55.00: A free kick followed by some cynical play by Coleman. The Sunwolves tap-and-go.
56.00: Terrific defending by the Rebels. The visitors went nine phases, bashing away at the line before being held up. Scrum to Brwon’s charges in a great position.
57.00: Grant Hattingh is tackled into touch after another series of attacks. Scrumhalf Shigeno has been poor tonight, making another poor pass to Parker that killed the attack at the root. Genia clears the danger with a big kick.
58.00: The Sunwolves have had 90% possession in the last 10 minutes, but they cannot find the all-important third try.
59.00: Hiroshi Yamashita knocks on Parker’s pass, killing another attack. The Japanese had finally won a lineout, too.
61.00: TRY! HAT-TRICK! Emery is flattened by Meakes, it looked high. Josh Timu had his kick charged down, and Hodge beat the defenders to score his treble. 33-15
63.00: CONVERSION! Cooper adds another two. 35-15
66.00: The game is winding down, the visitors look beaten
68.00: TRY! Genia races away for his second try of the season and 21st Super Rugby score. He took a short ball and ghosted through Nathan Vella’s outside shoulder for a 40-metre score. 40-15
69.00: CONVERSION! Cooper makes it six from six. 42-15
73.00: The Sunwolves are mounting a decent attack inside enemy territory, the move has gone 10 phases.
75.00: YELLOW CARD! Semisi Tupou is sent to the sin-bin for multiple infringements by the Rebels. 42-15
76.00: Another penalty, this time it’s Roach. The Sunwolves tap-and-go, something they’ve done all evening because of their shoddy lineout. The ball is turned over, and Michael Ruru clears.
77.00: YELLOW CARD! Vella is sent to the naughty step for a dangerous no-arms cleanout on Campbell Magnay. 42-15
79.00: YELLOW CARD! Magnay is off, too. The Sunwolves mount the last attack of the game. Magnay tackles Timu high and late. 42-15
81.00: Nothing comes from the penalty, and Mr Berry ends the game. It was clinical by the Aussies, while the Sunwolves were as poor as they have been since the Sharks drubbing in Singapore to open the campaign.
FULL TIME
To refresh this page click HERE. Live In-Play Betting.
The final score is Rebels 42 (28) Sunwolves 15 (8)
Scorers
Rebels
Tries – Hodge (3), Meakes, Cooper, Genia
Pen –
Con – Cooper (6)
Drop –
Cards – Tupou (Yellow, 75′), Magnay (Yellow, 81′)
Sunwolves
Tries – Masirewa (2)
Pen – Parker
Con – Parker
Drop –
Cards – Vella (Yellow, 77′)
Match Officials
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Ref 1: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Ref 2: Marius van der Westhuizen
TMO: Ian Smith
Teams
Rebels
15 Reece Hodge, 14 Jack Maddocks, 13 Tom English, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Angus Cottrell (captain), 6 Luke Jones, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Tetera Faulkner.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Ross Haylett-Petty, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Campbell Magnay, 23 Semisi Tupou.
Sunwolves
15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jason Emery, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Semisi Masirewa, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Hendrick Tui, 7 Dan Pryor (captain), 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Mark Abbott, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Vella, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Grant Hattingh, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Takuya Yamasawa, 23 Josh Timu.
