Reds cruise past Rebels
The Reds cruised to a convincing 53-3 bonus-point Super Rugby win over the Melbourne Rebels in Brisbane on Friday.
Last Updated: 18/03/11 12:10pm
The Reds cruised to a convincing 53-3 bonus-point Super Rugby win over the Melbourne Rebels in Brisbane on Friday.
The hosts hammered the competition new boys by seven tries to none with the Reds loose forwards particularly prominent in a dominant display.
The Reds snatched the chances handed to them, racing to a 25-3 lead by half-time as they scored three unanswered tries.
With the visitors forced to throw caution to the wind, the Reds were able to exploit the space given to them and scored four more tries in the second period including a hat-trick for replacement Mike Harris.
The Rebels didn't do themselves any favours, wasting a number of opportunities in the first half including one shocker by Greg Somerville that will go down as the fumble of the year.
Rebels coach Rod Macqueen will not be impressed with his side's missed tackled count either as they simply fell apart once the Reds had opened up a gap on the half-hour mark.
All credit to the Reds though who, after a sluggish start to the season, hits their straps in emphatic fashion.
Early try
The visitors opened the scoring early on when Danny Cipriani slotted a penalty but they wouldn't trouble the scorers again.
Anthony Fainga'a was first to cross the whitewash after just eight minutes after a long pass out wide by Quade Cooper and a powerful run by Scott Higginbotham.
Lock Adam Wallace-Harrison extended the lead with his first Super Rugby try when he somehow manage to get the ball down in pile of bodies.
The Rebels were still in the game but when Somerville dropped the ball while going over, despite being under no pressure, the writing was on the wall.
Higginbotham touched down just before the break after his back-row partner Leroy Houston took out three defenders to give the Reds a 22-point lead.
It was one way traffic in the second half with prop Ben Daley first to score when he barged his way over from short range.
Harris made a cameo appearance in the final quarter, scoring three times with some scintillating running and added a conversion to an impressive display.
