Share

Lions youngsters crumble in Buenos Aires

Cape Town - The Lions missed the chance to secure a home route to a possible Super Rugby final after they went down 34-22 to the Jaguares at Vélez Sarsfield.

Johan Ackermann's outfit will now play host to the Crusaders next weekend, with the Hurricanes handed a home game against the lowest seed, the Sharks, after finishing the regular-season top of the overall standings.

Ackermann, who had rested his first-choice XV to keep them fresh for the knockout stage, may now be regretting his selection decision.

The visitors in fact led at the break but in the end the power of the Jaguares shone through, as tries from number eight Facundo Isa and lock Mattias Alemanno came either side of a penalty try in the second stanza.

Scoring for the Lions was Anthony Volmink (2) and Sylvian Mahuza as they now head back to Johannesburg to prepare for next week.

Due to unexpected results in New Zealand earlier in the day, the Lions knew a minimum of a bonus-point would see them finish on top.

Few had given them a chance of getting the win in Argentina, but this second-string side silenced their doubters in the first-half as they went into the break leading 12-15 thanks to tries from Volmink and Mahuza. Flyhalf Jaco van der Walt kicked over one conversion and a penalty.

They began strongly and led inside three minutes when Van der Walt stepped up after a ruck offence. He made no mistake from in front.

Jaguares flyhalf Nicolás Sánchez responded two minutes later after Lions prop Corné Fourie was pinged at the ruck by Rohan Hoffman.

But then came the first try of the contest and it went the way of the Lions as captain Ross Cronjé set up Volmink down the left for 3-10.

Jaguares fans appeared shocked by the score but were warmed by two Sánchez kicks, in the 16th and 25th minute, that made it 9-10.

Again though the Lions landed a significant blow and this time it was a lovely offload from flank Robert Kruger that set up the score down the left sideline, with fullback Mahuza enjoying a simple run to the whitewash. This time Van der Walt missed his kick, so it was 9-15.

There was some consolation at the end of the half for the Jaguares as Sánchez landed a penalty but their joy was short-lived when the game restarted after the break, with Volmink slipping through some ordinary tackles for his second. With the extras, the Lions led 22-12.

One area that was creating chances though for the Jaguares was the scrum it got them back into the match when Isa powered over.

They should have been just two points behind when Cyle Brink was offside tracking back on 54 minutes, but Sánchez was off-target from the tee. And when hooker Julian Montoya was stopped centimetres from the line soon after, it was beginning to look like being the Lions' day.

But the power of the scrum came to the fore moments later as Hoffmann had no choice to give a penalty try, with the Jaguares 24-22 up.

Sánchez extended that margin to five points and when replacement lock Mattias Alemanno scored from a close-range carry, suddenly the Lions were out of losing bonus-point range at 34-22 down in Buenos Aires.

And that was how the score remained until full-time as the Lions must now lick their wounds before unleashing their first-team against what will be a tough opponent in the Crusaders in Johannesburg next weekend.

Scorers:

Jaguares

Tries: Isa, Penalty, Alemanno
Conversions: Sánchez (2)
Penalties: Sánchez (5)

Lions

Tries: Volmink (2), Mahuza
Conversions: Van der Walt (2)
Penalty: Van der Walt

Teams:

Jaguares

15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 6 Javier Ortega Desio, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro

Substitutes: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Mattias Alemanno, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Mattias Orlando

Lions

15 Sylvian Mahuza, 14 Koch Marx, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronjé (captain), 8 Cyle Brink, 7 Robert Kruger, 6 Stef de Witt, 5 Lourens Erasmus, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Corné Fourie

Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Clinton Theron, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Fabian Booysen, 20 Ruaan Lerm, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Ashlon Davids

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE