Rebel Army

Who’s the enemy ?

Nothing says blockbuster like the words “Traditional Rivals”.

Rivalries are commonplace in sport but always make for special encounters. For player the it’s about pride and one-upmanship. For the fan it’s about bragging rights and sledging the day after.

Rivalries usually entail an intangible dislike and begrudging respect for the opposition that make the wins sweeter and the losses far more sour. They prickle the pride. They motivate. A rivalry usually begins with a close encounter, a poached player or coach, or some instinctive display of passion overflowed.

Cameron Smith commented on the Storm-Broncos rivalry in the lead up to their 2009 final at Etihad Stadium:
“.. I think all the boys for whatever reason would say we take more satisfaction out of beating the Broncos…Maybe it is because of Craig’s connection with Brisbane, and he has passed that on to us, but we love playing them. Even outside of finals time, there is always plenty of feeling and intensity in the games…it probably wouldn’t feel like September if we weren’t playing them at some stage… They are always great matches. They always are close finishes… We love playing them and they love playing us. It will be a great battle”

Rivalries are organic. They grow with the outcome of each game change as the team lists change. Hawthorn and Essendon in the AFL enjoyed one of the most passionate rivalries in the 1980s, fuelled by 3 consecutive Grand Finals between 1983 and 1985. Dermott Brereton, the Hawks firebrand centre half forward of that era, trampled head long through the Essendon three quarter time huddle at Waverly Park in 1988 causing a memorable scuffle. The rivalry quietened but raised its head again in 2004 courtesy of Brereton, who at half time implored the Hawks to “draw a line in the sand” and stand up to Essendon’s aggression. The third quarter melee resulted in 5 players being suspended for a total of 16 weeks and fines totalling in excess of $70,000.

Rivalries sometimes involve teams in close proximity such as Carlton and Collingwood or the Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic. Normally a “cross town rivalry”, these are real examples derbies. They don’t quite suit a provincial model, they demonstrate how much animosity it creates and the elevates rivals within competitions.

They sometimes involve two sides evenly poised in the long term, although one can often dominate in streaks lasting several years such as Queensland and NSW in the Australian Rugby League’s State of Origin.

The Rebels are a new team, complete from scratch. It’s probably a stretch to suggest they’ve a rivalry with any particularly team yet. As a result, it’s more practical to consider where the rivalries may emerge from.

It’s tempting to suggest the Waratahs but their fans don’t really hate the Rebels or their fans enough for it to garner too much interest. The Waratahs beat the Rebels twice last year and it’s going to take a while for the Rebels to peg back the ledger and make it interesting.

Most professional athletes in the modern age enjoy a certain free-agency. As a result players are used to moving from team to team, and often get to play against former team mates so also easy to suggest that rivalries stem from the relationships between players and former clubs. . Mick McGuane went from Collingwood to Carlton and survived. John Barnes moved from Geelong to Essendon and became a successful ruckman. Sure, it was a big game against their old team mates, but did it really affect their performance and the way the team and fans behaved? Not really.

In a Super Rugby sense, players shift around as well. Quite often players will move between franchises and even between countries to find the right role. When the Rebels emerged in 2010 and began building their squad there would always be someone playing against familiar faces. Greg Somerville was one. Julian Huxley and Stirling Mortlock played against the Brumbies. It didn’t change the way the game was played.

That said however, a true rivalry needs a good win in unfamiliar surroundings, with a hostile crowd baying for blood. The Western Force fans have a vocal following at home. The Rebels embarrassed the Western Force at nib stadium in front of its home crowd, a crowd expecting to win. It wasn’t an embarrassing margin so much as the way it happened.

First and foremost was Hugh Pyle scoring against the flow with an intercept. The Lock Forward floated out of the line to intercept the ball and lumbered beyond the Western Force’s defensive line to score beneath the posts. In addition to Pyle’s efforts was the Danny Cipriani cross field penalty kick to Richard Kingi lurking on the left wing. The two plotted a conspiracy to catch their hosts unawares which, thankfully for Rebels fans, was successful. That Richard Kingi try will probably be a one of a kind, but will forever be close in the Rebels fans’ kit bag when the Force come to town.

The Western Force are the next most recent Australian team in the competition so it’s natural the Rebels performances are measured against their debut season. It’s also natural for Rebels fans to progress at least on par with them. The Rebels fans will be willing their team ahead of the curve set by the Force between 2006 and 2010, creating a tense scrutiny of Rebels v Force games.

It was the Western Force that deprived Victoria of a Super Rugby slot years ago. It’s certainly not a vital ingredient but it enriches the relationship between the two sides. Add to that the acquisition of James O’Connor and to a lesser degree Mitch Inman, and we start to see the seeds of something with a good bit of conflict and antagonism.

The upstarts of the competition had the cheek to lure a current Wallaby and Western Force star who is approaching his peak. As a result no Force fan is likely to give the Rebels, or their fans, a free pass around Perth. It may not be a traditional rivalry yet, but the Force have to be the closest.There’ll be a bit of feeling between the two sides this year.