Debutant Jaguares stun Cheetahs in Super Rugby opener

Although the final score may suggest that it was a close contest, there is no doubt that the visitors deserved the win as they played a far more structured game while they defended valiantly – even when reduced to 13-men.

The Super Rugby debutants looked anything but out of their comfort zone during the opening exchanges as they needed only three minutes to create their first chance to get onto the scoreboard.

Flyhalf Nicolás Sánchez missed the shot at goal and a few minutes later, after striking a crucial blow at the first scrum of the match, the Cheetahs also squandered a chance to get on the board when Fred Zeilinga missed the penalty his forwards won against the throw.

The first try of the match was scored against the run of play when Cheetahs skipper Francois Venter intercepted a Sánchez pass to make it 5-0 after 10 minutes.

Zeilinga made no mistake with the conversion, but neither did Sánchez when he knocked over a penalty seconds after the Cheetahs were caught napping after the restart.

Leading 7-3, the Cheetahs were pinned inside their half by the visitors who were steadily taking charge of the battle at the breakdown.

Another intercept, this time by wing Sergeal Petersen who nearly scored from 90 metres out, caused a significant shift in momentum as the Jaguares lost both scrumhalf Martin Landajo and Sánchez who were shown yellow cards in a matter of minutes.

The Free State side were awarded a penalty try from Landajo’s infringement and needed few invitations to capitalise on the two man advantage they enjoyed.

Having come close to scoring earlier in the match, hooker Torsten Van Jaarsveld added his name to the score sheet when the Jaguares defensive line was stretched to its limits.

Centre William Small-Smith made it 24-3 in the 25th minute of the match when he scored what would have been the bonus point under the old Super Rugby laws.

Under the new format teams need to score three more tries than their opponents and not only the required four to get the bonus point.

The Cheetahs then looked like a side that had started to relax after their fourth try, but then the Jaquares soon had their full compliment of players back on the field and turned the match on its head in a matter of minutes.

Landajo scored his team’s first try in the 29th minute when skipper Agustín Creevy popped a well-timed pass from a lineout move.

The Jaquares continued to make telling tackles and dominated the contact situation, needing only to work through the phases before Creevy dived over for his team’s second try of the evening on the 36-minute mark.

This meant that the the Cheetahs’ lead was cut down to just seven points (24-17) at halftime with their visitors gaining confidence with every completed passage of play.

As expected, confidence in the Jaquares team continued to build and the Argentine squad needed only four second-half minutes to level the scores.

Sánchez delivered a perfectly timed cross-kick which was rounded-off by flank Rodrigo Baez.

At 24-24 the Bloemfontein crowd was stunned and could only cheer when Zeilinga put his team ahead with two penalties that, like most of their efforts in the match, came against the run of play.

Finally, having dominated in most facets, the Jaquares took the lead for the first time in the 64th minute when Landajo scored his second try of the match.

A frantic finish ensued, but it was the more experienced group of Argentine internationals who persevered at the end. 

Scorers: 

Cheetahs 33(24): 

Tries: Francois Venter, Penalty Try, Torsten van Jaarsveld, William Small-Smith. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (2). Penalties: Zeilinga (2) Niel Marias.

Jaguares 34(14): 

Tries: Martin Landajo (2), Agustín Creevy, Rodrigo Baez. Conversions: Nicolás Sánchez (4). Penalties: Sánchez. Drop-goal: Sánchez - ANA