Heartbreak for the Rebels
Melbourne Rebels came agonisingly close to upsetting Super Rugby front-runners the Sharks before being edged out 34-32.
By Tony Curtis - Twitter: @SkySportsTC
Last Updated: 11/03/11 11:16am
Melbourne Rebels came agonisingly close to upsetting Super Rugby front-runners the Sharks after they were edged out 34-32.
The Rebels had led 25-13 after a superb individual effort from Danny Cipriani - however the Natal-based franchise hit back with three tries to secure the victory.
England fly-half showed some quality moments as he finished with 17 points - while Cooper Vuna, Julian Huxley and Jarrod Saffy also crossed for tries.
However Cipriani's missed pass set the visitors on their way for a crucial fourth try and although the former Wasps man managed to cover back the ball popped lose for Meyer Bosman to score.
Bismarck du Plessis, Lwazi Mvovo and Ryan Kankowski also scored while 14 points came from the boot of Patrick Lambie.
The Sharks had looked comfortable at 10-0 but the Rebels gave them a real fright as they became the first side to cross their line this season.
It was not all despair for the Rebels, though, as they picked up two bonus points in the defeat.
"We set ourselves a goal of being competitive and I think we can hold our heads high after that performance tonight," Rebels captain Stirling Mortlock said.
"Unfortunately, you've got 22 guys who are pretty disappointed because I think we did everything. It was a solid effort and we could have come away with a win there over a good team."
The win sees the Sharks move clear at the top of the South Africa Conference, but captain John Smit is not getting carried away by the success.
"It has been a great start but we have to keep our feet on the ground, there's still a long way to go," Smit said.
"We showed some real grit tonight, perhaps didn't come out of the blocks fast enough but we knew the (Rebels) have some great individuals and at some stage when they come together as a team I think it's going to be happening for them."
