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Richard Hardwick

It was a huge scoring game last night when the Melbourne Rebels began to bounce back from 3-17 after half-time with two tries from Cabous Eloff & Richard Hardwick, but it’s the Brumbies who were firing in all cylinders throughout the full 80 in a 17-36 win at AAMI Park.

The Rebels were happy to welcome back a few key players into the fold, such as two backline players in Andrew Kellaway & Reece Hodge, plus loose forward from the bench in Richard Hardwick. These players have played a part in their comeback after half-time alone, which wowed the home supporters off from their seats every time the Rebels score. If they’ve done this from the start, then the Rebels would’ve still been in the running but they have left it too late following a poor first-half spell.

Meanwhile, how good is this Brumbies attack! It’s incredible to look back with a whopping six tries on the board, mainly from full-back Tom Banks, who led this charge. We also saw some outstanding finishing from Tom Wright with two tries himself on the wide right, and the same goes with their back-row forwards in Rob Valetini & Jahrome Brown at the blindside (No.6) & openside (No.7) respectively. It’s only week 4 of 18 so far, but we’ll see if this Brums attacking shape will put to the test against the five New Zealand sides later on.

The Brumbies will return home in Canberra next Friday at GIO Stadium in a Grand Final Super Rugby AU rematch v Queensland Reds. And Melbourne Rebels are still looking for their first win of 2022 when they travel to Sydney next Saturday night v Waratahs at the SCG.

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Stacey Ili is outstanding who put a real shift in the Rebels midfield. He gives the credit to his forward pack. With the way they saw how the Waratahs attacked in return. And it was very isolated from the away side to have it executed alone.

He can make up hits and tackles when making up his defensive mindset. In order to protect and balance the workload with his forwards. That is how Stacey gave them a chance to build some set phases.

Where the Rebels managed to find themselves through the gate. Asked him to run alongside them through the channels. He catched the ball firm. With great set piece & passage of play. So he can find his man for the finish via the quick offload. In which was a job well done that inspired the Rebels tonight.

Richard Hardwick

Another Rebels player who shone at home is Richard Hardwick. He plays at openside flanker in the No.7 shirt. Got a great read in the defense. Able to look at the Waratahs attacking setup. Where they were impatient & one-dimensional.

Without the Waratahs bringing their support men further forward. Richard was able to ground them before turning the ball over. As the referee able to reward his way. Such a great defender to watch with the packed muscle. That gave every opportunity for his side to round it off.

Where he can play a great part of giving his backline a helping hand. As they do in reverse defensively. And it makes communication a brilliant flow between each other. This is how Richard contributed to the Rebels early momentum. With the winning penalties/turnovers involved. Which converts to more ball carries on hand. And even more points gained on the board. So the Waratahs unable to catch up in the end.

Tom Horton

He may have came off the bench for Dave Porecki in the 51st minute. But Tom made an impact immediately. His throw-ins was good. As well as a great eye to spot the Rebels weaknesses. Where they tend to dip down at times. And safe to say that Tom saw every bit of it. Having helped ground them down & turn the ball around.

Tom packs great physicality with plenty of mobility to move around. As said a bit earlier about his throw-ins. No doubt it has helped him launch the Waratahs attack. Where he can also get involved in advance. Such as two late assisted touchdowns towards the end of the game.

And it shows that Tom demonstrated flexibility both in attack & defense. He did well to add some winning penalties delivered for the Waratahs. Plus the late points needed to show some fightback in return. Even though their day was already done just before Tom walked in. This team now needs to rope him at No.2 next Saturday v Reds. If they are to win any games between Week 6 to Week 10.

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