Rabbitohs smash Tigers 50-10 at SCG - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Rabbitohs smash Tigers 50-10 at SCG

By David Beniuk 16/05/2010 09:55:12 PM Comments (0)

Rampant South Sydney sang the team song twice after they were mobbed by an over-enthusiastic crowd, forcing some players to miss the first version after Sunday's record 50-10 NRL victory over the Wests Tigers.

Thousands of fans jumped the fence at the SCG after the Rabbitohs biggest ever win over the joint venture, a nine-tries-to-two romp against a woeful Tigers.

Meant to wait until a second siren around five minutes after the first, the corner flags at the Randwick end had been souvenired as Benji Marshall lined up his final conversion attempt before advertising hoardings were also being carried away and a huge throng surrounded the players.

Souths winger Fetuli Talanoa was so late getting back to the change rooms because of the human traffic, the Rabbitohs sang the team song again when he arrived.

But the players seemed to have no dramas with a scene that had security staff scurrying to gain control.

"We had to sing it twice," Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke said.

"We just got ambushed.

"It was unreal. You play the game to enjoy the fans' company."

There was nothing enjoyable though for the Tigers as Souths wound back the clock for the NRL's heritage round, returning to the scene of some of their most famous victories as coach John Lang notched what is believed to be his 17th straight win over Tim Sheens-coached teams.

The Rabbitohs dominated against an out-enthused Tigers side and out-of-sorts Benji Marshall, who came up with three errors that turned into Souths tries.

In front of more than 30,000 at the SCG, mercurial Souths five-eighth John Sutton sent a last-minute message to NSW selectors, displaying all of his sublime talents in wreaking havoc on the Tigers' defence all afternoon.

"He was in everything," Lang said.

"He's been playing quite well but not at his best form. Until the bye, he was second in the competition on the try assists so he's got a tremendous talent.

"If we gel as a team, he'll go better."

Winger Nathan Merritt, who kicked a last ditch field goal to win the corresponding clash last year, bagged a hat-trick and Beau Champion a double, while Luke booted seven from nine.

"They were pretty bad to be perfectly honest, they dropped a lot of ball but ... (we) put pressure on them to force some of those mistakes," Lang said.

"I don't think we can claim full credit."

The Rabbitohs led 18-6 at the break before two tries to Champion in three minutes had them out to a 28-6 lead after 46 minutes.

Champion's second came after Tigers superstar Marshall had fumbled a kick and Souths' next four-pointer, Merritt's second in the 48th minute, came after a Marshall passing blunder deep in his own territory.

When Souths halfback Chris Sandow hit the chest of Colin Best with a perfect cross-field kick, it was 40-6 after 64 minutes before Merritt added his third in the 70th after another Tigers error involving Marshall and Talanoa compounded the embarrassment in the 72nd.

On the down side for Souths, captain Roy Asotasi injured a shoulder.

The Tigers released a statement on Sunday night saying they had called for an urgent meeting with the SCG Trust to review the circumstances surrounding the fans' premature flooding onto the ground.

"The incident has caused great concern and we will be looking to understand why the procedures that were agreed to were not followed," Wests Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys said.

"The plans put in place prior to the match were for supporters to be allowed onto the field after the second siren had sounded and after all players had left the field and returned to the dressing rooms.

"We are keen to learn the lessons and ensure that the right procedures are in place and adhered to so that we can continue to allow fans of all ages the rare opportunity to gain access to the hallowed turf of the SCG as part of our annual clash against the Rabbitohs."

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