THE REBELS AND Reds couldn’t be separated even after 10 minutes of golden-point additional time, sharing an 18-18 draw in the rain at Brookvale Oval.
In a new trial law in Super Rugby AU, drawn games advance into ‘Super Time,’ where the first team to score wins. The teams play two five-minute periods of extra time unless there is a score.
Reds fullback Bryce Hegarty saw a penalty shot from the halfway line drop just under the bar on the stroke of the changeover during Super Time but neither side could find the winning score.
The game was tied at 18-18 after regular time, with the Reds having manufactured a 79th-minute try for replacement hooker Alex Mafi that out-half James O’Connor converted to level the scoreline and take the game into Super Time.
The Reds’ O’Connor had been a central figure in the game, providing the try-assisting pass for a Filipo Daugunu score early in the second half but then being intercepted by Rebels centre Billy Meakes for his 68th-minute try.
Meakes’ score had seemingly left the Rebels in a fine position to secure the win in regular time, that intercept try following an earlier finish by Reece Hodge to put them 18-8 to the good.
But sparked by O’Connor, the Reds scrambled that late Mafi try and forced the game into Super Time.
This clash saw further examples of a 50/22 kick and a goal line drop-out, two of the other law trials involved in Super Rugby AU.
