Brumbies go down to Jaguares after scoreless second half

The Brumbies will have to settle for a 50-50 record from their overseas tour after a 20-15 loss to the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

Trailing by two points at the break, the Brumbies were forced to play much of the second 40 in their own half, unable to add to their scoreline.

Mistakes marred their rare attempts to attack and ill-discipline at key moments opened the door for the Jaguares to mount pressure.

It was a victory that both sides were desperate to clinch with their conference fates in the balance and the Brumbies had plenty of confidence after a win over the Stormers.

While the Brumbies were tenacious in defence, the Jaguares’ territory game meant the visitors were often on the back foot, largely off the back of some classy kicking from Argentinian youngster Domingo Miotti.

Brumbies captain Christian Lealiifano said post-match that the Jaguares’ pressure and their inconsistency in attack 

We had opportunities but we didn’t capitalise,” he said.

“The Jaguares were very good and they put us under pressure.

“I think we’ve got to be better in  our attack shape. We had opportunities but we weren’t in position early enough.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

Jaguares winger Sebastian Cancelliere who had the first points through a Brumbies mistake, with halfback Tomas Cubelli pouncing on a loose ball and putting a kick through for his teammate to score.

The Brumbies managed a reply off their lineout, though not in fact through a maul, with Folau Faingaa dotting down in the corner after a slick offload from tighthead Allan Alaalatoa.

Basic handling errors hurt both sides as the half ticked on, forcing a handful of scrums in the opening 20 minutes.

Just as the game appeared to heading towards a grind, Tom Banks turned on the pace to elude the Jaguares defenders to score a short-range try.

Cubelli played a part in a second Jaguares try, with his quick delivery opening the door for Matias Orlando to score a controversial try.

Orlando appeared to be tackled by Brumbies flanker Pete Samu, who released quickly in a bid to compete for the turnover, but the centre continued for the line and a TMO review deemed he was never held.

There was no such question over the Jaguares’ third – Cancelliere generated that try from deep in Brumbies attack, shrugging off much of the Brumbies pack to spark an attacking run that ended in Agustin Creevy crashing over.

The Brumbies worked their way into the Jaguares’ territory and looked for the corner initially before settling for a penalty just shy of half-time.

Miotti put the Jaguares into a dangerous position with a long kick down-field but some strong Brumbies defence put them into touch.

The second half was as much a mental test for the Brumbies as anything, forced to defend for large parts of the back half of the game.

When they did have chances in attack, they seemed to panic at times and coughed up the ball almost immediately.

The Brumbies’ discipline began to slip under pressure, but when they earned a vital penalty opportunity their fortunes began to change.

Two attempts at a driving maul didn’t reap rewards and even with Jaguares flanker Marcos Kremer sent to the bin for playing the ball on the round, the Brumbies weren’t able to finish off with a try on the back of their trademark set piece.

An uncharacteristic scrum penalty from the Brumbies gave Miotti a chance to kick clear of the pressure and put all the heat right back on the visitors.

The Brumbies will take a losing bonus point from the match, keeping them in touch with the Rebels at the top of the Australian conference.

RESULT

Jaguares 20

Tries: Cancelliere, Orlando, Creevy

Cons: Miotti 

Pens: Miotti

Yellow Card: Kremer

Brumbies 15

Tries: Faingaa, Banks

Cons: Lealiifano

Pens: Lealiifano

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