The Rebels Men’s XV side held on for a 41-38 victory over Casino at Albert Park in one of the more dramatic finishes of the season, coming from level at 31-31 to secure the win with a Luke Cleaver try late in the game.
Casino drew first blood, their number seven chasing a loose ball knocked from a lineout and kicking it through to open the scoring at 5-0. The Rebels responded by driving into Casino’s territory and battering against the tryline until Sam Valpy got over himself to level at 5-5. More Rebels pressure followed, and after a Casino lineout was intercepted the Rebels worked the ball wide where Oli Shakeshaft handed off one defender and pushed through another to touch down. 5-10.
Tough game
A poor Casino lineout in their own 22 was intercepted by Rory Miller, who made ground before releasing Jude Eastwell, who shouldered through a defender to score. Valpy converted to make it 5-17. The Rebels continued to build, with Corey Stocks and David Flynn both crossing in the 24th and 34th minutes respectively, Valpy converting both to send the Rebels into half time with a comfortable 12-31 advantage.
Casino came out with renewed purpose after the break and went on a remarkable scoring run. They got the ball wide early, chipped it over the Rebels’ line and scored to make it 19-31, before adding another try out wide to close the gap further to 26-31. The momentum was firmly with Casino and they levelled the game at 31-31, finishing from a short lineout pass near the corner flag. With the game in the balance, a Casino player failed to wrap in the tackle, earning a yellow card and handing Valpy a penalty kick which he converted to edge the Rebels back in front at 31-34.
Casino pressed again and threatened to retake the lead, pushing deep into the Rebels’ 22, but the defence held firm. The Rebels broke quickly from their own half through a series of strong carries before Luke Cleaver picked from a ruck and touched down between the posts. Valpy converted to put the Rebels 31-41 clear. Casino had one final push, grinding through the Rebels’ defensive line in the closing stages to make it 38-41, but the final whistle came without further addition to the score.
Jude Eastwell was named Man of the Match. The Rebels travel to Casuarina RUC next Saturday to face Lismore, kick off 3.15pm.
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