Sanchez Kicks 19 Points As Jaguares Tame Lions Again

Buenos Aires, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2018 ) :Star playmaker Nicolas Sanchez kicked 19 points as Jaguares maintained their Super Rugby mastery of Golden Lions in Argentina with a 49-35 triumph Saturday after a 11-try fest.

The Buenos Aires result completed a disastrous weekend for South African teams on the road in round 6 with Northern Bulls and Coastal Sharks crashing in Australasia. Western Stormers were the lone South African winners, surviving a late Queensland Reds rally to win 25-19 in a Cape Town match marred by a dangerous tackle that went unpunished.

Wellington Hurricanes ended Otago Highlanders' perfect start to the season with a 29-12 victory and Waikato Chiefs kept the Sunwolves winless in a 61-10 Tokyo rout. After 12-point home wins over 2016 and 2017 runners-up the Lions in the past two seasons, Jaguares shook off a poor start this year that included a 20-point drubbing at the Lions to win impressively.

The South Americans were ahead within 45 seconds through a Bautista Delguy try, led 25-14 at half-time and responded swiftly when the Lions twice closed the gap to four points. Jaguares winger Emiliano Boffelli and loose forward Javier Ortega Desio and Lions hooker Malcolm Marx scored two tries each.

Meanwhile, SuperSport tv analyst and former South Africa coach Nick Mallett said Reds prop Taniela Tupou should have been red-carded for a no-arms, high tackle on Craig Barry during the first half.

"I do not know how this foul went unpunished. It was impossible for all four (referee, two assistant referees and the television match official) to miss it." The Reds, who arrived in Cape Town from Buenos Aires via London after defeating the Jaguares last weekend, were soon 18 points behind.

But scores just before and after half-time from forwards Caleb Timu and Alex Mafi slashed the deficit to four points. A Raymond Rhule try gave the Stormers breathing space until a dramatic finish in which Filipo Daugunu ran the length of the field to score.

Needing a converted try to snatch victory, the Reds won a line-out 10 metres from the Stormers line only to be penalised at a ruck and the final whistle sounded. Young Stormers fly-half Damian Willemse had another excellent outing and contributed 10 points from two conversions and two penalties.

In Wellington, Hurricanes scored four tries to two, extending an impressive home record which includes wins over defending champions Canterbury Crusaders and Auckland Blues. The result will be a jolt for the Highlanders, who went into the match with three wins from three but had not played away from their Dunedin home this season.

Hurricanes captain Brad Shields said the 2016 champions were determined to defend their home turf against a side that beat them in the 2015 final. "At times we really had to grind it out," Shields said.

"Sometimes that's the way you've got to play to win these derby matches. I'm proud of our effort, but we're still not where we want to be." Waisake Naholo was the standout performer for the Highlanders, scoring two tries.

Damian McKenzie lit the spark in Tokyo as the Chiefs inflicted more misery on the struggling Sunwolves by bulldozing to a 51-point win. McKenzie and Solomona Alaimalo grabbed two tries each in a dominant performance by the New Zealanders, who posted their biggest victory margin.

The visitors ran in nine tries, several of them orchestrated by McKenzie, showing what he can do in a play-making role after proving his class at full-back in recent seasons. "We managed to come out and put points on them early and the way we kept the scoreboard ticking over was something I'm really happy about," said Chiefs captain Sam Cane.

"Definitely some components of our defence were pretty good -- there were some big collisions today. We'll keep working on that because we play the Highlanders on Friday."