The Lions defeated a poor Jaguares 47-27 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg to claim the bonus-point win.
The Lions overcame an early 10-point deficit to claim the bonus-point victory in the altitude of the City of Gold.
Aphiwe Dyantyi, who grabbed a brace, starred for the home team, who ran in seven tries in the 20-point win.
Last year’s Super Rugby finalists were cruising, leading by 27 points going into the final nine minutes.
However, Bautista Delguy’s superb three-minute double gave the visitors some hope.
But, the Lions, through Warren Whiteley, finished the game off in style when the skipper crossed for his team’s seventh try, capping off another fine display.
It was another disappointing performance by the mercurial South Americans, who had two players yellow carded in the defeat.
The Jaguares opened the scoring when Emiliano Boffelli finished off a flowing move. Sanchez converted to make it 0-7 inside the first five minutes.
The Lions went close through Kwagga Smith, but the Sevens specialist was stopped short.
On 18 minutes, Boffelli slotted a long-range penalty. Both scrums were conceding and winning penalties in the set-piece.
Another turnover at the ruck by the Jaguares turned defence into attack. The Lions were not committing men to the breakdown and the visitors were snapping up the loose ball.
It was only some more poor handling by the visitors that kept them from increasing their lead.
Moments’ later, it was the Dyantyi show. The winger stepped off his left foot and cut between Felipe Arregui and Sanchez to score.
The Lions were piling on the pressure. The Jaguares were starting to creak.
Delguy deliberately knocked down Warren Whiteley’s pass and after a look in the television booth, the winger was yellow carded and a penalty try awarded.
An outrageous decision from referee Jaco Peyper and TMO Willie Vos combined to send the player to the sidelines.
The Argentinians’ ill-discipline, once again, started to deteriorate and the penalties started to stack up.
On the stroke of half-time, Andries Coetzee extended the Lions lead.
Lionel Mapoe’s wonderful offload sucked in two defenders before sending the fullback away. Jantjies’added the extras to give his team a two-score lead.
The home team were at it again after the break when Dyantyi and Sylvian Mahuza combined.
Mahuza was sent away after a great run by Dyantyi. It came from a strong scrum inside the Lions half.
Sanchez halved the deficit to 26-13 on 51 minutes, but the Lions hit back immediately.
Dyantyi scored his second after a counter-attack inside his side’s 22.
The winger raced away for a 60-metre run, gliding past three Jaguares players, two of which run into each other before an outrageous side-step on Boffelli.
The lead was now 20 points after another Jantjies conversion. Johan Janse van Rensburg scored before another yellow card, this time for Julian Montoya.
But it was the Jaguares who scored, twice inside four minutes. Delguy got both with some outstanding football skills.
The other after latching onto Martin Landajo’s precise box-kick. There was no improbable comeback.
Whiteley got his just desserts when he finished the game off with the Lions seventh try.
Final score: Lions 47 (19) Jaguares 27 (10)
Scorers
Lions
Tries – Dyantyi (2), Penalty try, Coetzee, Mahuza, Janse Van Rensburg, Whiteley
Pen –
Con – Jantjies (5)
Drop –
Cards –
Jaguares
Tries – Boffelli, Delguy (2)
Pen – Boffelli, Sanchez
Con – Sanchez (3)
Drop –
Cards – Delguy (Yellow, 33′), Montoya (Yellow, 71′)
Match Officials
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Ref 1: AJ Jacobs (South Africa),
Assistant Ref 2: Jaco Pretorius (South Africa)
TMO: Willie Vos (South Africa)
Teams
Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Albertus Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques Van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Jacobus Adriaanse, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Marco Jansen Van Vuren, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg.
Jaguares
15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Javier Ortega, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Felipe Arregui.
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Javier Manuel Diaz, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 23 Ramiro Moyano.