Argentina’s Jaguares came from behind to beat Melbourne Rebels 22-25 at AAMI Park for their first away win of the Super rugby season.
The Rebels led by 11 points at half time but the Jaguares outscored their hosts by 22 points to eight in the second half to win the match.
The Super rugby victory is the Jaguares third win this season from eight matches and the Rebels third loss from seven matches.
The Rebels could take come away with a draw as they had a penalty in front of the posts in extra time but chose to scrum and ended up having to settle for a losing bonus point.
The result is a blow for the Rebels who won their first three matches this season and have led the Australian conference but have now suffered back to back losses at home.
Both teams scored three tries each and the difference came down to penalty kicks with Nicolas Sanchez kicking one more penalty than Jack Debreczeni.
The result opens the door for the Waratahs take overtake the Rebels for the first time this season in the Australian Super rugby conference as a draw against the Reds will be enough to put them on top.
The Jaguares scored the first points of the match with a penalty from Sanchez but the Rebels responded as Will Genia found space and offloaded to Billy Meakes who scored the opening try.
The Rebels worked the ball into the Jaguares 22 on the quarter-hour mark and went for the corner but Marika Koroibete was tackled into touch a couple of metres out.
The hosts were called back for a penalty and this time they sucked in the Jaguares defence and went back out wide to Marika Koroibete who scored in the corner.
Neither side could add any points before the break and the Rebels held on to their 11 point lead.
After the break Genia again created something from nothing as he broke from the back of the scrum and offloaded the ball 5m out. The ball went to Dane Haylett-Petty via a Jaguares hand but he managed to control the ball and score.
Debreczeni missed the conversion but at this point the Rebels were headed for a bonus point victory.
The Jaguares however immediately hit back as within 30 seconds they created the overlap and Sebastian Cancelliere scored under the posts.
Four minutes later after Tetera Faulkner had been sin-binned Ramiro Moyano powered through two tackles and scored for the Jaguares.
Sanchez missed the conversion which meant the South American side were trailing but just a point.
A Debreczeni penalty extended the hosts lead but then Jaguares replacement Bautista Ezcurra came on and within minutes had scored and put the Argentina side into the lead.
The Rebels put the Jaguares under huge pressure in the final minutes as they strung together almost 35 phases but the Jaguares held them out until they conceded a penalty.
The Rebels went for the win and chose the scrum which they won but the Jaguares turned the ball over and kicked the ball out to end the match.
Next week in the tenth round the Rebels travel to South Africa where they will face the Bulls on Saturday while the Jaguares play the Brumbies in Canberra on Sunday.
Final Score Rebels 22 (14) Jaguares 25 (3)
Scorers
Rebels
Tries – B.Meakes, M.Koroibete, D.Haylett-Petty
Pen – J.Debreczeni
Con – J.Debreczeni 2
Drop –
Cards -Tetera Faulkner (55th min yellow)
Jaguares
Tries – S.Cancelliere, R.Moyano, B.Ezcurra
Pen – N.Sanchez 2
Con – N.Sanchez 2
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Ref 1:Will Houston
Assistant Ref 2:Graham Cooper
TMO :Damien Mitchelmore
Teams
Rebels
Tetera Faulkner , Anaru Rangi , Sam Talakai , Geoff Parling , Adam Coleman , Ross Haylett-Petty , Richard Hardwick , Amanaki Mafi , Will Genia , Jack Debreczeni , Marika Koroibete , Billy Meakes , Tom English , Jack Maddocks , Dane Haylett-Petty
Replacements : Jordan Uelese , Ben Daley , Jermaine Ainsley , Matt Philip , Colby Fainga’a , Lopeti Timani , Michael Ruru , Sefa Naivalu
Jaguares
15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Sebastian Cancelliere, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Javier Manuel Diaz, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Bautista Ezcurra, 23 Joaquin Tuculet
