Can you hear the people sing! | Thebigtip

Last week the Melbourne Rebels made history by playing their first game of Super Rugby but they had it handed to them by the Waratahs in a 43-0 paddling.  It was scrappy, there was no team work and barely any communication.  But after watching the game and having a bit of a think about it I realised why it was so familar, they were playing just like club grade women's rugby - the rucks and mauls were crowded and there were too many players committed to the break-downs to mount a defence or an attack.

But hey lets not be too harsh - the Waratahs had made only two changes from their 2010 Semi-final team and it was the Rebels first ever game in Super Rugby.  To put it simply, they were outclassed by their opposition.  What is going to make a difference is learning how to play as a team, trusting each other and it's going to take time.  I just didn't expect what I saw tonight...

Tonight at the stockade the Melbourne Rebels wrote their own history, first points scored by a Rebel went to Danny Cipriani with a penalty and the first try to the Rebels was fittingly scored by the captian Stirling Mortlock.  Most importantly they scored their first Super Rugby win with an upset over the Brumbies.  The refereeing to the end of the game was questionable, in the 75" Henry Speight scored a try off what was clearly a forward pass and who knows what the ref was thinking when he awarded the Rebels a penalty in the 79" giving Danny Cipriani the opportunity to kick the Rebels to victory.  Maybe the penalty was compensation from the earlier bad call of awarding the try?  I'm sure this will be the subject of Brumbies fans agnst over losing the game and the Rebels fans will happily gloss over these points and just remember the win.  But the points will stand and the stats will always show that the Melbourne Rebels scored their first Super Rugby win over the ACT Brumbies at AAMI Park on February 25 2011 in front of a highly vocal and energetic Melbourne crowd.

The Melbourne Rebels were a completely different team tonight.  The defence in pressure situations held up and the Brumbies could not get through their line.  With minimal posession of the ball the Rebels were able to win penalties against the attacking Brumbies and stay in the game.  The biggest impact for the Rebels tonight was the on-field leadership of flyhalf Danny Cipriani and the determination and skill shown by Mark Gerrard.  I haven't seen the stats yet, but the tackle count would be huge and I'm sure that there will be plenty of ice baths tonight.  It would be remiss not to mention the contribution Pat McCabe made to the Brumbies, scoring the first try of the game and never letting up.  As Australian Rookie Player of the Year in 2010 he will be one to watch in 2011.

All in all, a great team effort by the Rebels and maybe the next time the Brumbies won't be so complacent and have some respect for the newest team in Super Rugby because tonight the Rebels showed that sure, there is a way to go but it never pays to discount them.  And Melbourne, we all know you are sports mad but tonight the cheers and encouragement you gave the players and the fact you all came back after a punishing first week really puts meaning to the song that played as the Rebels won their first game "Do you hear the people sing".