Super Rugby
Debreczeni's Super education gets tricky against Quade
Sam Bruce
April 2, 2015
Super Rugby Preview: Round 8

Rising Melbourne Rebels fly-half Jack Debreczeni faces another challenge in his Super Rugby education when he lines up against mercurial Queensland Reds playmaker Quade Cooper on Friday.

The 21-year-old former Sydneysider has started all but one of Rebels' six matches this season, drawing praise for a cool head that belies the rookie status of his fledgling professional career. But he perhaps faces his toughest task yet in marking Cooper, with the former Wallabies No.10 set to bring his bag of tricks to AAMI Park on Good Friday in what is a crunch game for both sides.

Defending against Cooper is an experience unlike any other, but one that Rebels coach Tony McGahan says will help Debreczeni's long-term development.

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"I think Jack's biggest thing is to continue to gather time on the field," McGahan told ESPN. "You can't replicate that and Jack's a really young guy, and playing in the No.10 position where you're playing in the front line and directing the side around the field at Super Rugby level is a difficult task. But it's one that he is really warming to every week, and the more time he gets on the field he's experiencing things for the first time and he's getting better and better each week.

"His control on the game, his composure with his kicking is getting better every week. We really think that by the end of the season Jack's going to be in a really good position to push on for next season. But it's also up to the coaches and the other players around him to provide a really good environment for what Jack's doing. We're really delighted with the progress that he's making."

Cooper made his return from injury in the Reds' 18-17 loss to the Lions last week, the 53-Test veteran turning in a mixed outing as he struggled for cohesion with the players around him. One of the biggest positives for under-fire Reds coach Richard Graham was Cooper's combination with long-time halves partner Will Genia, while James O'Connor was also looking for work away from his wing.

McGahan had little doubt the Reds would be a more complete outfit with Cooper having the 80 minutes against the Lions under his belt.

"I thought [the Reds] did a lot of things really well," he said. "A bit like us, they were in pretty good control for most of the game; certainly Quade working with Will there provided a really strong attacking framework for what they do. They seemed to pick up things pretty quickly after such a long lay-off [for Cooper] but we certainly expect them to be a lot better in their execution this week. But I thought they did a really good job last week. It's a big game for both sides but both clubs are looking forward to the contest."

Jack Debreczeni is learning how to direct the Rebels around © Getty Images
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The Rebels are without a win at home since Round 10 last year, having dropped six straight matches at AAMI Park including losses to the Waratahs, Brumbies and Lions this year. The 20-16 loss to the Lions a fortnight ago was particular devastating, with the Rebels in control for much of the match. But a failure to capitalise on their opportunities meant the South Africans remained in the contest before pouncing three minutes from full-time when they were given one last final opportunity.

"The Lions heart-breaker [we were] in full control again, having played pretty solid rugby for the first half and went in [to half-time] in a pretty strong position," McGahan said. "We missed out on a couple of chances at the back end of the game through being held up over the line and we missed a couple of kicks that really hurt us. And the Lions showed across their tour, which was fantastic for them, they showed they're a very resilient side and they scrambled very well. They were able to hang in there and they were good enough to be able to bring the ball down 80 metres in the final two minutes and get the result."

McGahan said his side had to make the most of their try-scoring chances against the Reds on Friday night.

"[We must] continue to show faith in what we're doing and to really back our attack and continue to minimise those big moments that are costing us at the moment," he said. "There's three or four of those in the game at the moment that are costing us seven points at a time. So if we can really minimise that and continue to back ourselves in what we're doing, everyone has confidence that we can go forward and get a good result this weekend."

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