Orlando Magic as Jaguares hammer Sharks

The Jaguares thrashed the Sharks 17-51 with a thrilling attacking display at Kings Park, Durban.

Matias Orlando scored a hat-trick and Pablo Matera a brace as the Jaguares punished a sloppy Sharks team.

The South Americans out-scored their opponents seven tries to two after a dominant Super Rugby away display as they brought up their half-century in style.

Robert du Preez Snr’s men crashed back down to earth with a ragged performance on the east coast of South Africa.

The Sharks thumped the Lions by 37 points in Johannesburg last week, but they were abject in the Durban sunshine.

The Jaguares scored three well-worked tries to take a deserved 11-point halftime lead.

They punished the Sharks, who had led 10-7 after Hyron Andrews cancelled out Tomas Cubelli’s early score, but it was downhill from there.

The South Americans scored 29 unanswered points in 20 minutes either side of the break to take the game away from the South Africans.

Video Highlights: Sharks versus Jaguares

Gonzalo Quesada’s men continued where they left off.

Matera, Orlando and Matias Moroni all crossed after the break to seal a bonus-point victory, and their second win in South Africa in two weeks.

Aphelele Fassi pulled back a try for the home side, but it was inconsequential.

Sharks brought down to earth

Both teams were coming off impressive away victories on the Highveld. It didn’t take long for the Argentinians to strike.

Some slick handling saw Cubelli score in the third minute. Tomas Lezana’s angled run sucked in the outside defenders.

The number eight straightened and popped a fantastic chicken-wing pass to his scrumhalf to score.

Curwin Bosch, who was superb for the Sharks, set up his team’s first try. He popped a pass to the supporting Luke Stringer, who drew the last defender before sending Andrews away.

Robert du Preez levelled the scores before adding a penalty in the 22nd-minute to give his side a slim lead.

The Sharks were having the better of the match, and they decided to go to their lineout instead of taking the points as the Jaguares leaked penalties.

They would rue their profligacy. Akker van der Merwe’s ban was felt because Kerron van Vuuren had a nightmare with his lineout throwing.

Mistakes prove costly for the home side

The hooker’s errant throwing cost his team opportunities to extend their lead. They were punished with a sucker punch after Andre Esterhuizen’s knock on inside the Jaguares’ 22.

Matera started the attack by dislodging the ball from Esterhuizen, and he finished the counter with a sublime chip-and-chase.

Cubelli snapped up the ball and started a counter-attack. The scrumhalf’s no-look pass to Domingo Miotti drew the defenders.

Miotti took the ball to the line and played Matera. The flanker burst through a hole and raced towards Rob du Preez.

The Sharks’ flyhalf went for the tackle but an incredible piece of skill saw Matera chip Du Preez, run around him and gather the rolling ball.

Matera kept his composure, collecting the ball and flopping over for his first try of the game.

The score kick-started a period of play that blew the men in black away.

With halftime approaching, Cubelli sent another no-look pass, this time to Emiliano Boffelli on his inside.

The winger broke through some weak tackling and passed to the supporting Orlando to score under the posts. It was a hammer blow to the hosts.

Jaguares stamp their authority after the interval

Another botched lineout was stolen by the visitors. They immediately went wide to Boffelli.

The flyer cut back inside with a weaving run, beating five defenders before sending Matera away.

The 25-year-old broke a tackle and carried a defender over the chalk for his second. The Sharks were reduced to a rabble.

They had no answer for the furious intensity their opponents were bringing. It was they who started giving away penalties.

Miotti extended the lead with his first penalty-goal from near the sideline. Cubelli was it again.

He broke blind from a driving maul, playing Moroni, who darted inside and kicked behind the Sharks’ back three.

Nobody was at home and so, under no pressure, the winger collected the bouncing ball and scored. Game over.

Miotti missed his only kick of the afternoon, but it did not matter. The Sharks did manage a score.

Bosch had been threatening the entire game, he moved to flyhalf – after Rob du Preez was put out of his misery – and supplied Fassi with a try on a plate.

There would be no comeback, instead, the Jaguares regrouped and went up the field with brutal efficiency.

Miotti added another penalty as the visitors looked to run down the clock.

Orlando Magic

As the game entered the final quarter of an hour, Quesada’s side did what they did against the Bulls; they upped the tempo.

A strong right shoulder set up Orlando’s sensational score. The centre took the ball, looked up and sped through a gap in the Sharks’ midfield.

He put on the afterburners and left the defenders in his wake.

Santiago Carreras tackled Bosch on the Sharks’ line.

The ball was dislodged over the goal line, Orlando was quickest to get a hand on the ball and seal his treble.

It capped a miserable day for the east coast franchise but sent the Jaguares back to South America unbeaten in the Republic to enjoy their Easter bye-week.

Final Score: Sharks 17 (10) Jaguares 51 (21)

Scorers

Sharks
Tries – Andrews, Fassi
Pen – R. Du Preez
Con – R. Du Preez, Bosch
Drop –
Cards –

Jaguares
Tries – Cubelli, Matera (2), Orlando (3), Moroni
Pen – Miotti (2)
Con – Miotti (5)
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: Nick Briant
Assistant Ref 1: Federico Anselmi
Assistant Ref 2: Cwengile Jadezweni
TMO: Marius Jonker

Teams

Sharks

15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Juan Schoeman.

Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Kobus van Wyk, 23 Aphelele Fassi.

Jaguares

15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Tomas Lezana, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.

Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Enrique Pieretto Heilan, 19 Javier Ortega Desio, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Santiago Carreras.