Emiliano Boffelli and Javier Ortega Desio scored two tries each as the Jaguares beat the Lions 49-35 in Buenos Aires on Saturday. MARIETTE ADAMS reports.
Following their underwhelming display against the Sunwolves, the Lions had to deliver an improved performance in this game to strengthen their championship credentials. Unfortunately, the history of this fixture dictates that the hosts always win and so it was again in Buenos Aires.
And unlike their game the previous week, the Lions weren’t inexplicably poor, they were simply outplayed by the flashy Jaguares. Lions centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg was in fine form, especially on defence, while Malcolm Marx’s two-try cameo off the bench was also impressive. But otherwise, the Argentinian players were the majority stakeholders in terms of influence.
The Lions made the worst possible start as they conceded a converted try in the first minute of the game when Bautista Delguy dotted down. And the hosts’ lead was soon extended to 10 with a penalty.
With the Jaguares disintegrating at scrum time, the Lions shrewdly used the set piece as a strike weapon and a double strike by Marvin Orie and Sylvia Mahuza put them in front by four.
The Jaguares, however, were not prepared to relinquish the momentum they had built up. They punished the Lions from turnover possession, adding another 15 points to their tally as they headed into the break at 25-14.
The second stanza belonged to the Jaguares as well, as they outscored the Lions 24-21.
Boffelli completed his brace after the restart, but when Marx was brought on, his physically at the breakdown won the Lions a string of penalties. The hooker and fellow replacement Lourens Erasmus crashed over from close quarters as the visitors clawed their way back to within three points.
Poor handling and sloppy defence then let Swys de Bruin’s men down as the Jaguares added two further tries.
Marx continued to impress with a second touchdown in-between, but scoring and then conceding immediately afterwards cost the Lions, who ultimately failed to collect any log points.
Jaguares – Tries: Bautista Delguy, Emiliano Boffelli (2), Javier Ortega Desio (2), Bautista Ezcurra. Conversions: Nicolas Sanchez (5). Penalties: Sanchez (3).
Lions – Tries: Marvin Orie, Sylvian Mahuza, Malcolm Marx (2), Lourens Erasmus. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (5).
Jaguares – 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta.
Subs: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Felipe Arregui, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Ramiro Moyano.
Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Robert Kruger, 6 Cyle Brink, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Len Massyn, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Shaun Reynolds.
Photo: Gabriel Rossi/Getty Images
