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Cape Town - The reinforced Melbourne Rebels won their second straight Super Rugby match on Saturday as winger Jack Maddocks claimed a hat-trick of tries against the injury-hit Sunwolves in Tokyo.
The Rebels, bolstered by key off-season signings including Wallabies scrumhalf Will Genia, scored five tries and a penalty try, beating the Japanese side 37-17.
Rising star Maddocks scored the opening try for the Rebels after an excellent run on the left flank at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
The Melbourne side swiftly extended the lead as No 8 Amanaki Mafi dived over for a try while the conversion was just missed.
The Sunwolves, cheered on by the local crowd, struck back as Ryoto Nakamura booted a penalty, narrowing the gap to 10-3.
The Japanese side levelled the match 10-10 after William Tupou intercepted the ball and crossed for an easy try, followed by the conversion just before half-time.
But the Rebels took back the lead early in the second half as Sefanaia Naivalu bagged a try.
The Rebels secured victory as Maddocks grabbed his second and third tries with brilliant runs on the right to complete his hat-trick.
Flanker Ed Quirk posted a try for the Sunwolves following a repeat of scrums but the game ended with a penalty try for the Rebels just on the final whistle.
Last week, the new-look Rebels got off to a flying start to the season, beating the Reds 45-19.
Reinforced by 12 new players from the jettisoned Western Force, the Rebels set records with seven tries in their biggest match score in Super Rugby under former Force coach Dave Wessels.
The Sunwolves were forced to make a number of changes to their side with Lomano Lemeki and others injured during their loss to the Brumbies last week.
The Japanese side had a horror season in the southern hemisphere's elite club competition last year, winning just two games. They had a chastening debut season in 2016, winning only one of 15 games.
In next weekend's action, the Rebels host the Brumbies in Melbourne (Friday, March 9), while the Sunwolves face the Sharks in Durban (Saturday, March 10).
Scorers:
Sunwolves
Tries: Will Tupou, Ed Quirk
Conversions: Ryoto Nakamura (2)
Penalty: Nakamura
Rebels
Tries: Jack Maddocks (3), Amanaki Mafi, Sefanaia Naivalu, penalty try
Conversions: Reece Hodge
Penalty: Jack Debreczeni
Note: A penalty try is worth seven points, with no conversion needed
Teams:
Sunwolves
15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Will Tupou, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Yutaka Nagare (captain), 8 Ed Quirk, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Willie Britz, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Ho Shota Horie, 1 Craig Miller
Substitutes: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 James Moore, 20 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Harumichi Tatekawa, 23 Ryuji Noguchi
Rebels
15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Jack Maddocks, 13 Tom English, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Will Genia, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Angus Cottrell, 6 Lopeti Timani, 5 Adam Coleman (captain), 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Jordan Uelese, 1 Tetera Faulkner
Substitutes: 16 Anaru Rangi, 17 Fereti Sa’aga, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Ross Haylett-Petty, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Billy Meakes, 23 Colby Fainga'a
