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Boffelli at the double as Jaguares beat beleaguered Bulls

Emiliano Boffelli grabbed a brace in the Jaguares' 24-39 victory over the beleaguered Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Emiliano Boffelli of the Jaguares during the Super Rugby match between Bulls and Jaguares at Loftus Versfeld on February 29, 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The Jaguares beat the beleaguered Bulls 24-39 at a damp Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.

The Jaguares scored six tries to three to run out comfortable winners at on the second-leg of their South African tour on the damp and wet Highveld

Emiliano Boffelli grabbed a brace as the South Americans got back to winning ways with an impressive bonus-point win against the former three-time champions.

Rodrigo Bruni, Guido Petti, Matias Moroni and Santiago Socino also crossed for the Jaguares.


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The Bulls managed three tries of their own through Marco van Staden, Warrick Gelant and Cornal Hendricks as the Bulls stayed in touching distance.

Joaquin Diaz Bonilla’s 64th-minute yellow card could not stop the Argentinians from powering to a comfortable 15-point win.

Despite winning well, the Jaguares stay in the third spot on the South African Conference log after the Sharks win in Brisbane over the Reds.

It was a gloomy day in Pretoria, and not because of the weather.

Another abject defeat keeps the Bulls rooted to the bottom of the table as the only side left in the tournament yet to register a win.

The traditional strength of the Bulls is their set-pieces; however, this was a rank display of ineptitude as they lost a scrum and four lineouts.

They also shipped 16 penalties, which rendered any chance of winning obsolete.

Jaguares start and finish the first-half on fire

The Jaguares controlled the early exchanges, scoring twice inside the opening quarter to lead the Bulls 7-10.

Boffelli finished off a well-worked attack, beating Rosco Specman, who was drawn in by Jeronimo De La Fuente, to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

Pote Human’s side levelled after a well-worked lineout move involving Jaco Visagie and Van Staden ended with the flank running over Gonzalo Bertranou to score in the corner on 11 minutes.

Bruni barged over after a sublime fake driving maul five minutes later.

The Bulls were left scratching their heads, wondering how they allowed the number eight such an easy try without anyone attempting to tackle him.

Diaz Bonilla missed the conversion, though, the Jaguares had regained the lead.

Weather conditions make handling a problem as errors mount

Both teams struggled to get any momentum going.

The wet conditions dictated the sides played in each other’s half, but kicking was poor.

Handling was worse as the teams decided to play in the wide channels.

Gelant dived over in the corner after a thrilling counter-attack from inside the Bulls half after a dull 15 quarter-of-an-hour.

Joy was short-lived, however, as the visitors hit back with two tries in two minutes at the end of the half to take a 10-point lead into the shed.

It was a hammer blow for Human’s side, who had only regained the lead 90 seconds earlier.

Petti scored a sensational try for the Jaguares.

Super Rugby Video Highlights: Bulls versus Jaguares, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

The lock finished off a sublime deep counter-attack by Diaz Bonilla.

He ran from inside his half to the Bulls 22 before offloading an outrageous chicken-wing pass to the supporting Petti.

Things went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds when Bulls conceded a penalty inside their opponent’s 22.

Bonilla booted his side to the Bulls 10m.

From the resulting lineout, the 30-year-old flyhalf’s deft chip-kick over the onrushing blue wall was gathered by Moroni.

The centre then danced his way through the blue cones for his side’s fourth score of the half.

Bulls begin the second stanza with a bang

A dazzling run from Specman, from inside his half, ends with Hendricks touching down in the corner soon after the restart.

Steyn’s touchline conversion made it a three-point ball-game.

Johnny Kotze found himself in the sin-bin after a high tackle on Tomas Lezana after a 12-phase attack on the Bulls’ line.

Julian Montoya went close, but he was held up over the line for a scrum.

Diaz Bonilla went to the boot with another crossfield kick-pass to the waiting Boffelli, who cut inside Gelant to score.

The flyhalf’s sideline conversion opened up another 10-point gap with less than half-an-hour to play.

Human’s side leaked penalties throughout, conceding 16 to eight.

This allowed the Argentinians to stay ahead without resorting to any risky play from deep.

Steyn and Diaz Bonilla traded penalties to set up a tight finish going into the last quarter.

Diaz Bonilla received a yellow card for a foul on Specman.

The stand-off pulling the flying winger down by his jaw, and he was fortunate, though, not to get a red card.

Despite playing with 14 men, the Jaguares clinched the game when reserve hooker Socino flopped over the whitewash from a driving maul.

Final Score: Bulls 24 (14) Jaguares 39 (24)

Scorers

Bulls
Tries – Van Staden, Gelant, Hendricks
Pen –
Con – Steyn (2)
Drop –
Cards – Kotze (Yellow, 48′)

Jaguares
Tries – Boffelli (2), Bruni, Petti, Moroni, Socino
Pen – Diaz Bonilla
Con – Diaz Bonilla (3)
Drop –
Cards – Diaz Bonilla (Yellow, 64′)

Match Officials
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Ref 1: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Ref 2: Griffin Colby
TMO: Marius Jonker

Teams

Bulls

Head Coach: Pote Human

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Josh Strauss, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Trevor Nyakane (captain), 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.

Replacements: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Ruan Steenkamp, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Divan Rossouw.

Jaguares

Head Coach: Gonzalo Quesada

15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.

Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Juan Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Domingo Miotti, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Santiago Chocobares.

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