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Missed Chances cost Los Jaguares against the Blues this morning with the Argentine Super Rugby franchise losing 24-16 against the Auckland based side. With it Los Jaguares failed to secure any competition points for the first time and the team slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat.
Execution proved to be Los Jaguares downfall against the Blues. The Argentine franchise dominated much of the play, being positioned on attack inside Blues territory for extended periods.
But with Los Jaguares only managing to score points through Santiago González Iglesias penalties, opportunities to score tries and control the scoreline went begging.
By way of comparison the Blues broke through on the few occasions that they got into Argentine territory. Tries scored by back-rower Steven Luatua and fly half Ihaia West combined with a West penalty established a 15-6 advantage to the New Zealanders.
Complications arose for Los Jaguares with fullback Ramiro Moyano being forced off after taking a high tackle. This forced changes with Nicolás Sánchez coming on into a reconfigured back-line.
Moyano had started this morning’s game following the resting of Lucas González Amorosino and Joaquín Tuculet as well as the loss of Santiago Cordero to a minor car accident. Rethinking will now be required, and with care, ahead of next weekend’s fixture in Wellington against the Hurricanes.
Los Jaguares started the second half strongly with González Iglesias, now playing at inside center, narrowing the scores to 15-09. Chances of taking the lead were missed with the Blues having the balance tipped in their favor when it came to infringements.
A number of kicking errors also host Los Jaguares as did decisions made by New Zealand referee Mike Fraser. Failures on the part of Fraser resulted in the Blues scoring further points as the Blues were able to manipulate the scrum, illegally feeding the ball at unplayable angles.
Los Jaguares were far from happy with the officiating and their frustration offered West opportunities which he converted into points. Successful penalties in the 54th, 59th and 69th minutes secured the result.
Los Jaguares’ try came in the 62nd minute with replacement scrum half Gonzalo Bertranou crossing. Sánchez landed the conversion but it would not be for Los Jaguares as attempts to reduce the deficit failed.
Los Jaguares will now travel to Wellington to play next Saturday, April 09 in the New Zealand capital.
Scorers
Blues
Try: Luatua, West
Conversion: West
Penalty: West (4)
Los Jaguares
Try: Bertranou
Conversion: Sánchez
Penalty: González Iglesias (3)
Blues
15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Rieko Ioane, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Joe Edwards, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons (cPT.), 1 Nic Mayhew
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 19 Hoani Matenga, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Matt McGahan, 23 George Moala
Los Jaguares
15 Ramiro Moyano, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Santiago González Iglesias, 9 Martín Landajo (capt.), 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Rodrigo Báez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Roberto Tejerizo
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Felipe Arregui, 20 Juan Cruz Guillemaín, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Nicolás Sánchez, 23 Joaquín Paz
