A Brad Weber try at the death gave the Waikato Chiefs a 30-26 victory and spoiled the Jaguares’ home debut as Super Rugby arrived in Argentina at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani on Saturday.
It had looked like a different story 3 minutes from the hooter, after the Argentine side had scored two brilliant counterattacking tries in quick succession to go ahead 26-23.
The Chiefs, champions in 2012 and 2013, kept their cool in an unfamiliar and noisy environment and worked their way back up the pitch for flyhalf Aaron Cruden to break down the touchline and pass inside for scrumhalf Weber to score.
Photo: AFP
“It was a tough game, fun game,” Jaguares scrumhalf Martin Landajo said. “They had the last word, but it could have gone to either team.”
“It’s disappointing, but we’re happy to play in Argentina. It was a great match,” he added.
After overhauling a slim 14-13 first half deficit, the Chiefs had largely dominated the second half and led 24-13 going into the final 10 minutes.
The Jaguares finally managed to get out of their own half in the 70th minute, when nippy wing Santiago Cordero broke up the middle and kicked ahead for Moroni as the replacement center made for the line.
The Chiefs got to the ball first and the attack was halted, but the Jaguares kept up the pressure and in a series of phases moved the ball across to the right, where Landajo spotted a gap and dived over for a try.
Three minutes later, the Jaguares broke again from deep in their half down the left with a good run by replacement flanker Facundo Isa, who passed inside to Moroni and the center evaded the defense to dive over in the corner.
Argentina flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez missed the conversion, leaving his points tally at 11.
The Jaguares, who earned a bonus point to add to their five points for a victory and defeat in their opening two matches in South Africa, confirmed they can live with the best and a victory would not have flattered them.
The hosts scored the first try after 14 minutes, when captain Agustin Creevy was driven over to put the home side 8-3 up.
The visitors quickly hit back with tries in both corners through wing Sam McNicol and fullback Damian McKenzie inside 3 minutes.
The Chiefs pulled away in the second half, with wing James Lowe’s try just past the hour before the Jaguares had the home crowd on their feet with their late two-try burst.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys stepped up tonight,” Chiefs skipper Sam Cane said. “Credit to the Jaguares, they pushed us right until the end. I’m pretty pleased with the way we didn’t stop playing and came up with a pretty handy try at the end.”
In other games on Saturday, the Lions defeated the Cheetahs 39-22 in Johannesburg, while the Stormers downed the ACT Brumbies 31-11 in Cape Town.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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