Rebels 42
Mark Hammett must be wondering what he has let himself in for.
The Hurricanes rugby coach could only watch in horror as his team blew an early 17-0 lead in a thumping 25-42 loss to the Super 15 competition's new team, the Melbourne Rebels, in Melbourne tonight.
In a staggering turnaround - the Rebels were thrashed 53-3 by the Reds at Brisbane last week and looked miserable during the opening 15 minutes tonight - the home team ran riot to score six unanswered tries in their second win of the season, consigning the Hurricanes to their third loss from five matches.
MATCH STATS
SUPER 15 STANDINGS
Hammett's team have conceded 83 points in the past fortnight - they lost 41-17 to the Blues last week - and have serious defensive problems to rectify before they can even think about featuring anywhere near the playoffs.
Had the Rebels' English first five-eighth Danny Cipriani turned his kicking radar on before the match - he missed five from 10 attempts - the scoreline would have read much worse for the Hurricanes, who started so well but finished so poorly.
The visitors were quick out of the blocks, pouncing on early Rebels mistakes to snare three tries inside 17min for a 17-0 lead.
The going was almost too easy for a team which had not scored a four-try bonus in their first four matches as halfback Chris Eaton, No 8 Victor Vito and first five-eighth Daniel Kirkpatrick all breached the Rebels' line.
Eaton opened the scoring when he took an inside pass from lock Jason Eaton and dived over in the corner, Vito made it two tries in 6min when he was put outside his marker by a beautifully timed Ma'a Nonu pass and scorched 30m to score, and when Nonu swooped on a loose pass and Kirkpatrick waltzed through a gaping hole from the next phase, the Rebels looked gone.
They were far from it.
Giant prop Rodney Blake got the ball rolling for the new franchise when he crashed over from the Rebels' first excursion into the Hurricanes 22 and their forward dominance in the first half was rewarded when, after a well worked maul, lock Al Campbell barged over from close range.
The comeback was completed before halftime as flanker Michael Lipman scored after a well weighted cross-field chip from Cipriani, who nailed a long-range penalty on the stroke of the break to level the scores at 20-20.
Cirpriani landed an early second half penalty to edge them ahead for the first time before the Rebels broke free, Campbell securing his brace of tries before former league player Cooper Vuna scored out wide and halfback Nick Phipps crossed after some neat back play to kill the match off with 20min remaining.
Hooker Dane Coles scored a late try for the Hurricanes which secured them a bonus point, small consolation after what had transpired in the previous 78min.
Rebels 42 (Al Campbell 2, Rodney Blake, Michael Lipman, Cooper Vuna, Nick Phipps tries; Danny Cipriani 2 pen, 3 con) Hurricanes 25 (Chris Eaton, Victor Vito, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Dane Coles tries; Kirkpatrick pen, con). Halftime: 20-20.
- NZPA
