Inside centre David Horwitz scored a try in the 80th minute to guide the Waratahs to a 32-25 win over the gutsy Rebels in Melbourne. MARIETTE ADAMS reports.
The Waratahs overturned a 19-point first-half deficit to stun their hosts, who had been in front from the 18th minute. Trailing by seven with five minutes remaining, the Waratahs scored two converted tries after the Rebels were reduced to 14 men.
Knowing they are in a three-way fight with the Brumbies and Force for Super Rugby survival, the Rebels, who are perennial strugglers, turned in one of their best performances and yet came up short. Everyone associated with the Melbourne franchise will be wondering where to from here, if they can't even protect a 19-point advantage when they are playing well.
The 2014 champions will be thrilled with how they fought back to ultimately secure the win and snap their three-match losing streak, but it was a lucky escape.
All the pre-match talk had been about the timely return of flyhalf Bernard Foley and how the 27-year-old's presence would enhance the Waratahs' performance. But in the end, it was his Wallabies teammate, Reece Hodge, who played a big part in this contest despite being on the losing side. The inside centre contributed 20 points to the Rebels' tally via two tries tries, two conversions and two penalties.
The duo traded kicks early on, but the Rebels outplayed the Waratahs throughout the rest of the first half. Spotting two big forwards in front of him, Hodge accelerated as he hit the gap between them to score a self-converted try. The Waratahs were not deprived of scoring opportunities either, but Rebels flank Colby Fainga'a, on several occasions, curbed their attack with brilliant pilfering on the ground.
Discipline wasn't high on the priority list of both teams, and after few penalties either way, Hodge and Foley exchanged kicks again, but the last 10 minutes of the first half belonged to the hosts. From turnover possession in their own half, Tom English was on the end of the final pass of a Rebels counter-attack. That was followed by Hodge's second try four minutes before the break, which put the Rebels 25-6 up.
The Rebels faded in the second half and failed to add to their tally, while the Waratahs improved systematically as the game progressed. Ned Hanigan and Reece Robinson scored soon after the restart, but the Rebels looked set to defend their lead after that.
But with time running out, the Waratahs struck. Fainga'a was yellow-carded for deliberately collapsing a maul and with the man-over advantage, Michael Wells scored and Foley converted to draw level. They then launched an attack from deep and with the Rebels defence at sixes and sevens, Horwitz crashed over for the winning effort.
Rebels – Tries: Reece Hodge (2), Tom English. Conversions: Hodge (2). Penalties: Hodge (2).
Waratahs – Tries: Ned Hanigan, Reece Robinson, Michael Wells, David Horwitz. Conversions: Bernard Foley (3). Penalties: Foley (2).
Rebels – 15 Jack Debreczeni, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tom English, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Nic Stirzaker (c), 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 James Hanson, 1 Fereti Sa’aga.
Subs: 16 Pat Leafa, 17 Tom Moloney, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Mitch Inman, 23 Ben Volavola.
Waratahs – 15 Israel Folau, 14 Reece Robinson, 13 Rob Horne, 12 David Horwitz, 11 Andrew Kellaway, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Tom Robertson.
Subs: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Paddy Ryan, 18 David Lolohea, 19 Dave McDuling, 20 Michael Wells, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Cam Clark, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Photo: Michael Hodge/Getty Images
