Rebels stun Hurricanes
The Rebels produced a sensational comeback as they thumped the Hurricanes 42-25.
By Tony Curtis - Twitter: @SkySportsTC
Last Updated: 25/03/11 4:38pm
The Rebels produced a sensational comeback as they thumped the Hurricanes 42-25 for only their second win.
It looked like the newly-formed Melbourne franchise could be in for a long day after they conceded three tries in the opening 17 minutes and were guilty of missing 14 tackles.
However from 17-0 and 20-5 down, the Rebels regrouped to secure a memorable victory.
Chris Eaton, Victor Vito and Daniel Kirkpatrick had made the most of some questionable defence to put the Hurricanes into a commanding position.
And although Rodney Blake marked his return to Super Rugby with a bulldozing effort, Kirkpatrick added a penalty to his earlier conversion.
The Rebels, though, began to claw their way back into the game - with the forwards leading the way.
Impressive
Alister Campbell and former England international Michael Lipman both showed great strength to power over, with a conversion and a penalty from Danny Cipriani seeing the scores level at the break.
Rod Macqueen's side continued where they left off in the second period - with Cipriani slotting over an early penalty before he added the extras as Campbell grabbed his second.
Cooper Vuna showed his finishing prowess to dive over in the corner after a flowing move, while the impressive Nick Phipps deservedly added his name to the scoresheet.
Cipriani, who had an off-day with his place kicking, added the conversion to give the Rebels a healthy cushion.
Dane Coles scored late on for the visitors but it was not enough to spark a recovery.
