Rebels Yell 30 – 29

Melbourne Rebels

The Rebel Yell could be heard for miles as the Melbourne team held on to register their first win of the 2012 Super Rugby season with a 30 – 29 victory over the Western Force in front of around 11,000 fans in Melbourne on Friday.

The Rebels had suffered a serious setback during the week when their Wallaby utility back James O’Conner suffered a hamstring injury in training and withdrew from the match, then their England wing, Danny Cipriani limped off clutching his hamstring soon after scoring his 22nd minute try.

With a 21-0 lead at one stage the Rebels looked well set for their first win of 2012 as they scored three tries in the opening 22 minutes, through centres Lachlan Mitchell and Lloyd Johansson, and Danny Cipriani’s great run which was the culmination of his best outing so far for the Rebels.

The Rebels led 24-12 at halftime but the Force had other ideas with a try three minutes into the second half through winger Alfie Mafi. 

The Force fought back with two quick tries and led 29-27 with 16 minutes left on the clock and the Rebels now looked like recording their 12 straight loss.

But another mistake from the Force gave the Rebels the chance they needed with a final three pointer and a well-deserved win.  — David Blood, SportsCentral