Waratahs humble the new entrant Rebels by 28-9 - Super Rugby news
Waratahs defeated the Rebels for the second time in the Super Rugby 2011 championship as they outscored the visitors 28 – 9 at Aussies Stadium, Sydney. The match was played as part of the super xv round 11 encounters on Saturday, April 30. The Super Rugby debutants, Rebels, received a thumping defeat in their first ever match of the super rugby competition thanks to the Waratahs.
Rebels might not be pleased with the performance of their attack, which did help them to put a few points on the board but were lacklustre overall. Unlike their earlier match, in which they failed to score a point and were defeated by the margin of 43 points.
This was Rebels third consecutive loss and brings their total to a seven games after playing 10 games in the Super xv. Melbourne Rebels captain, Stirling Mortlock, has blamed his team’s lack of attack for defeat in Sydney. Waratahs defeated the Rebels three tries to none however both teams did scored equal number of penalties(3).
For Waratahs the three tries were scored by their hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, flanker David Dennis and lock Dean Mumm during the 12th, 71st and 79th minute respectively.
Mortlock has also criticised the forward lines ability to penetrate the Waratahs defence. He further added that even if it is difficult to penetrate through their defence, the least the team could have done is to hold the ball and keep possession.
In Mortlock’s opinion, this hampered his side from creating any sort of pressure on the visitors and allowed them the space to create scoring opportunities. He said, "Our ball retention was very poor -- we couldn't seem to get any pressure on them in attack."
At the same time Mortlock has expressed his satisfaction with his teams defence and acknowledged their performance as they did hold on number of Waratahs attacks in the game. He said, "I was really happy we've moved forward in defence."
Mortlock also emphasized on the need for the team to gel together. He said that the forward lines needed to deliver a better performance. He further added that in order to develop into a well functioning unit, the different components of the unit need to be properly synchronized and fine-tuned to achieve maximum efficiency.
Super XV is the Rebels debut Super Rugby championship and they are expected to improve their performance overtime. However, some observers believe that the team has the resources to achieve results in lesser time and that is what their captain is aiming to achieve.
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