Argentina’s Jaguares have played the Southern Kings three times since the South African side joined Super Rugby last season.
In those three matches, the Jaguares have won two and lost one. The home side lost their previous two games in Buenos Aires, but they have never lost three in a row at home.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick-off.
1.00: BEEP! BEEP! Jamie Nutbrown gets us underway at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani in Buenos Aires on a mild evening in Argentina.
3.00: Some good possession for the Kings sees Tyler Paul break through the home team’s defence after Lionel Cronje’s smart ball, but he puts in a grubber and the visitors lose the ball.
4.00: The Kings have possession inside the Jaguares’ 22, but it is lost at the breakdown after some good work by the Argentinian’s forwards. The home team punch the ball through the middle and break down the field.
5.00: Martín Landajo is almost over for the game’s opening try, but he is tackled short by Wandile Mjekevu, who makes the try-saving tackle, under the posts and the scrumhalf loses the ball forward. Phew!
6.00: Andisa Ntsila picks up from the base of the scrum, charges forward, but loses the ball in the tackle. The home team will have a scrum inside the Kings’ 22, in centre field.
7.00: The Jaguares go to the right, running a pre-planned backline switch, but Matías Orlando cannot hold onto the ball and it’s another knock on.
11.00: The Jaguares go through the phases, win a penalty and take it quickly, however, at the next breakdown, Chris Cloete wins his team a penalty after some great work over the tackled player and the Kings clear.
13.00: The Jaguares take a short lineout inside their 22 and Joaquín Tuculet, under pressure and next to the touchline, kicks a beautiful clearance to relieve the pressure on his team. Superb.
15.00: The game is pretty scrappy at the moment, both teams failing to control the ball in the tackle. They must be rusty after such a long break for the June internationals.
16.00: TRY Juan Manuel Leguizamón! Bautista Ezcurra punches a hole inside the Kings’ 22. Some quick ball sees Leguizamón score in the corner after a deft pass from Joaquín Tuculet: 5-0
17.00: MISS! Nicolás Sánchez misses from the corner, but the home team have a deserved lead: 5-0
20.00: The Kings make their way into the opposition’s 22, win another penalty and kick to the corner.
22.00: The visitors go to their driving maul and win another penalty after the Jaguares come in from the side. Cronje kicks to the corner, again.
23.00: TRY Luzuko Vulindlu! The centre barges over from short range. It came from a good drive and quick ball at the ruck: 5-5
24.00: Cronje adds the extras and the South Africans have the lead: 5-7
25.00: Mzamo Majola loses his bind in the scrum and the home team get the penalty for collapsing.
26.00: PENALTY! Sánchez puts his team back in front: 8-7
27.00: Cloete wins another turnover at the breakdown; the flanker is causing chaos there.
28.00: TRY Makazole Mapimpi! The Kings go wide, Wandile Mjekevu takes a crash ball under the sticks, the ball is recycled and sent wide. Malcolm Jaer stands in the tackle and passes to the winger, who runs in untouched to give the Kings the lead: 8-12
29.00: Cronje slots the conversion: 8-14
31.00: TRY Emiliano Boffelli! Matías Moroni collects a bouncing ball from a stray pass, gives the ball to Joaquín Tuculet. The fullback puts in a little grubber for the wing, who beats Malcolm Jaer to the ball to score: 13-14
32.00: MISS! Sánchez cannot give his side the lead, missing his second conversion attempt of the night: 13-14
35.00: Louis Schreuder makes a tackle at the breakdown to win the ball back for the away side. Ross Geldenhuys leaves the field for a blood-bin clean-up; the prop’s eye is red all around. Ouch.
36.00: A solid scrum by the visitors sees them break blind, but another fifty-fifty pass goes astray.
37.00: The Kings are penalised and instead of kicking for poles, Martín Landajo decides for touch.
38.00: TRY Nicolás Sánchez! The Pumas’ flyhalf takes the ball from Martín Landajo and dances through three Kings forwards and scores under the posts. He beat Mzamo Majola and Dayan van der Westhuizen before breaking Berton Klaasen’s weak tackle: 18-14
39.00: The standoff converts his own try and the lead is six points: 20-14
41.00: The hooter sounds and Jamie Nutbrown penalises Lucas Noguera for not rolling away. Cronje calls for the tee. The kick is about 45 metres.
42.00: MISS! The Kings’ skipper shanks his penalty attempt well wide.
The half-time score was Jaguares 20 Kings 14
41.00: BEEP! BEEP! We are back underway in Argentina. Nicolás Sánchez restarts with a high kick into the Kings’ 22.
42.00: TRY Joaquín Tuculet! The fullback gathers Nicolás Sánchez’s wonderfully weighted grubber and dots down in the corner. That was far too easy for the Jaguares: 25-14
43.00: MISS! Sánchez misses from wide for the third time tonight; he is struggling with these wide kicks: 25-14
45.00: Matías Alemanno is penalised for not releasing after the tackle. Cronje will take a shot from close range.
46.00: PENALTY Cronje! No problem for the Kings’ captain: 25-17
49.00: The referee loses his patience after two reset scrums, and then penalises Mzamo Majola for collapsing. The Jaguares go quickly, charge down the field, but the Kings get another turnover and Cronje clears the danger.
52.00: Just when the Kings regather possession, they lose it forward with another handling error. The Jaguares have the scrum inside the opposition’s 22 and in the middle of the field.
55.00: Great work by Chris Cloete; the flanker wins another turnover after the Jaguares went several phases of crash-ball.
56.00: Berton Klaasen is penalised for a high tackle around the neck. Sánchez has called for the tee.
57.00: MISS! Another kick from the Pumas’ flyhalf is wide; he’s two from six. Astonishing: 25-17
58.00: Tempers are flaring here. Two scuffles break out in separate areas of the field. TMO Santiago Borsani is called to action. It started with Lionel Cronje getting taken out after letting the ball go. Handbags really.
59.00: TRY! It’s Mapimpi again. Malcolm Jaer made the break, passed to the winger, who played a one-two with Luzuko Vulindlu before dotting down: 25-22
60.00: Cronje adds the extras to make it a one-point game: 25-24
62.00: After some kicking by both teams, the home team are awarded a penalty for obstruction by the Kings. It came after Jaer was stripped of the ball by Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, who takes over kicking duty from Sánchez.
63.00: MISS! Bonilla’s kick is so far wide, it almost went out for a lineout.
66.00: There have been 25 handling errors in the game so far. The Jaguares win the penalty, but Bonilla misses his touch and the Kings attack. The kicking from the tee and out of hand by the home team has been dismal.
68.00: A big scrum from the Kings’ forwards is wasted as Cronje kicks the ball away. The next series of play leads to a Jaguares penalty.
70.00: MASSIVE SCRUM by the Kings; they pushed the Jaguares 10 metres backwards.
71.00: TRY Wandile Mjekevu! The winger takes the ball at first receiver from Stefan Ungerer and races through the 22 to score and give the Kings the lead: 25-29
72.00: Cronje extends the lead with his fourth conversion of the night: 25-31
73.00: TRY Tuculet gets his second. Joaquín Díaz Bonilla kicks a wonderful cross-kick bomb, which the fullback gathers over the whitewash to score: 30-31
74.00: MISS! Joaquín Díaz Bonilla’s kick is well wide, again. What is going on here with the kickers tonight? 30-31
76.00: The Kings almost get another, but the attack is halted. The South Africans are nearly over the line for their first win in Argentina.
78.00: BIG SCRUM! Another huge scrum by the visitors sees them awarded a penalty in front of the poles, however, they opt for the kick to the corner and a lineout. Brave call.
79.00: The Kings are penalised for obstruction at the lineout. The Jags have the lineout on halfway, but they overthrow and Cloete jumps on the ball.
80.00: The hooter goes, the Kings have the ball and boot it into the stands. Wow! Sensational victory for the men from the Eastern Cape.
Full-time
The final score is Jaguares 30 (20) Kings 31 (14)
Scorers
Jaguares
Tries – Leguizamón, Boffelli, Sánchez, Tuculet (2)
Pen – Sánchez
Con – Sánchez
Drop –
Cards –
Kings
Tries – Vulindlu, Mapimpi (2), Mjekevu
Pen – Cronje
Con – Cronje (4)
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Jamie Nutbrown
Assistant Ref 1: Pali Deluca
Assistant Ref 2: Damian Schneider
TMO: Santiago Borsani
Teams
Jaguares: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Matías Moroni, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo (captain), 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Lucas Noguera.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Tejerizo, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Ignacio Larrague, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 23 Santiago Cordero.
Southern Kings: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Lionel Cronje (captain), 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Mzamo Majola.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Masixole Banda, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Yaw Penxe
