Highlanders
32
Match Complete
Jaguares
27
| 64 |  | J. D. Bonilla | ||
| 63 |  | R. Moyano | ||
| J. Ioane |  | 60 | ||
| J. Ioane | | 52 | ||
| 42 | | J. D. Bonilla | ||
| 41 | | M. Kremer | ||
| J. Ioane | | 41 | ||
| L. Coltman | | 39 | ||
| J. Ioane | | 36 | ||
| S. Tomkinson | | 35 | ||
| 34 | | J. D. Bonilla | ||
| J. Ioane | | 30 | ||
| M. Faddes | | 29 | ||
| 27 | | J. D. Bonilla | ||
| J. Lentjes | | 22 | ||
| 14 | | J. D. Bonilla | ||
| 12 | | M. Moroni |
| 4 | Tries | 3 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 2 | Penalty Goals | 2 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Highlanders and Jaguares will go head to head in Dunedin a tantalising clash as Round 13 continues in the Super Rugby. Both teams are in the hunt for finals spots but neither have them locked down and a win this Saturday will be hugely important for both of them. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of this exciting match starting from 3:15pm AEST on Saturday.
While many sometimes dismiss the Jaguares as the playboys from Argentina, they have been putting together win after win and who currently have the second best form in the entire competition between the Hurricanes. That’s not the behaviour of playboys – the Jags mean business.
On the upside for the Highlanders, Gonzalo Quesada has decided to not start a number of his best and brightest. There will be a lot of new players at kick off for the Jaguares and the Highlanders will need to get off to a fast start to take advantage of this.
On the downside, Quesada has moved many of his top talent to the bench. Agustin Creevy, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Tomas Cubelli and Matias Orlando – all internationals – will be waiting in the wings ready to come on and have a big impact.
Given how the Highlanders really switched off in the final quarter against the Chiefs last week, this strategy could work very well as long the Jags can be in close contact with the home side.
The Jaguares have built their success so far this season, perhaps surprisingly, on effective defence and have the highest successful tackle percentage in the entire competition. If they can maintain this wall like defence in Dunedin then the Highlanders could be in trouble.
For the home side, it’ll have been a tough time in training this week. Coach Aaron Mauger has made it very clear how disappointed he was with the way his team played against the Chiefs.
Ending up drawing when they were leading 28-11 at one point has really annoyed him and he’s calling on his men to put in a much better 80-minute performance against the Argentinians.
Unfortunately this is going to be harder than usual as talismanic leader Ben Smith is out for the rest of the season and Teihorangi Walden is also missing this week.
Not only are these two talents in their own right, but it’ll ask more questions of young fly half Josh Ioane.
With these two experienced players missing, Ioane is going to have to step up and show that his impressive games so far this season aren’t just a flash in the pan.
Excitingly for the men from the deep south, hero Liam Squire is making a come back from the bench. The impressive flanker has been out for six months and is going to be impossible to keep sitting down for the first 50 minutes or so.
When he does get on Mauger is going to want him to rip and tear his way through the Jags.
Prediction
The Jags have only been around since 2016 but they’ve already won on New Zealand soil. Interestingly though, the Highlanders are still one of three sides that the Jags have never beaten. Will this change on Saturday? It really could.
It feels like this could be a very close one and both sides have so much to play for. In the end, the home advantage is going to get the Highlanders home, but only just.
Highlanders to win by 3.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 3:15pm AEST on Saturday.
Where: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Date: Saturday 11th May 2019
When: 3:15pm AEST
TV: Foxsports
Betting: Highlanders $1.17, Jaguares $5.00
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Ref: Mike Fraser James Doleman
TMO: Shane McDermott
Highlanders
15 Matt Faddes
14 Jordan Hyland
13 Rob Thompson
12 Sio Tomkinson
11 Tevita Li
10 Josh Ioane
9 Aaron Smith
8 Elliot Dixon
7 Luke Whitelock (c)
6 James Lentjes
5 Tom Franklin
4 Josh Dickson
3 Siate Tokolahi
2 Liam Coltman
1 Ayden Johnstone.
Replacements:
16 Ash Dixon
17 Daniel Lienert-Brown
18 Tyrel Lomax
19 Jack Whetton
20 Liam Squire
21 Kayne Hammington
22 Dan Hollinshead
23 Thomas Umaga-Jensen
Jaguares
15 Emiliano Boffelli
14 Sebastian Cancelliere
13 Matias Moroni
12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c)
11 Ramiro Moyano
10 Joaquin Díaz Bonilla
9 Felipe Ezcurra
8 Javier Ortega Desio
7 Tomas Lezana
6 Juan Manuel Leguizamon
5 Lucas Paulos
4 Marcos Kremer
3 Enrique Pieretto
2 Julian Montoya
1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements
16 Agustin Creevy
17 Juan Pablo Zeiss
18 Santiago Medrano
19 Tomas Lavanini
20 Pablo Matera
21 Tomas Cubelli
22 Domingo Miotti
23 Matias Orlando
2019 Form
Highlanders LLWWD
Jaguares – WWBWW
Played 1
Highlanders won 1
Jaguares won 0
Nobrain
Roar Guru
Yeah !! Whatever!!!
Nobrain
Roar Guru
I do not think so. A high tackle is a high tackle for Jaguares a nobody else. So rare that every call was in the last ten minutes in favor of the Landers. Highlander is to good of a team and do not need that type of help.
Kitch
Guest
Sorry but Jag deserved most of those penalties. They are always a niggly whinging side and it’s to their shame that Creevy carried on like he did at the end...good on the ref for staying out to explain the rules to him...shows he had nothing to hide! Labanini should have been yellowed at the end for twice throwing himself at the legs with no arms...really dangerous and will break someone’s legs one day...he’s well known for it and has been carded before.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
For large parts of the game, O'K got it pretty right. But that last ten minutes. Just have eyes on one team
Tycoch22
Roar Rookie
Dear Jagaures, You are not the only people who question O'Keefe. I think there is little doubt he has not got a clue. Regretably he is going to the RWC - hopefully he does not get to ruin too masny games
Nobrain
Roar Guru
The ref was really thin in some calls, but Jags already know that's is going to happen so they should be able to adapt. There is a difference of criteria with the ref from SA conference and it takes some time to get use to it. Next game Jags will fix it. But big jet lag , 9 changes from last game, one debutant y few with very little time on the field in SR. I take the bonus .
Oliver Matthews
Expert
FINAL SCORE!! Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 The Highlanders have picked up a good win at home as they beat the Jaguares 32 - 27 in a strange game in Round 13. The opening 20 minutes was very quiet on the scoreboard as both sides tried to figure each other out. There was a lot of aerial ping pong which was both boring and not especially effective but both sides seemed hesitant to keep the ball in hand. The second quarter of the match though saw things come to life as the Highlanders scored 4 tries and they seemed to have found the way to unlock the Jaguares. With a 13 point lead at half time the home side were definitely in the driving seat but they hadn't looked in complete control and the Jags would have felt like they could get back into the game if they could score first. And that they did with Kremer scoring immediately after half time. The Highlanders were well aware that their second half performances hadn't been good enough recently and to be fair to them this week, they did get the win but they did lose the second half 14-6. There were big passages of the game were both sides will look back and feel like they made bad choices. Too much aimless kicking and in the second half the Jags discipline really cost them. Some of the penalties they gave away at scrum time might have been questionable for sure but in general the visitors gave the ball away far too much at a point when they were chasing the game and had the momentum. In the end the potential tension of a tight finish sort of fizzled out as the Highlanders could rely upon a series of Jags penalties to relieve the pressure. The awesome bench of experience and talent that the Jags had held back never really had the impact that it was expected to unfortunately and you wonder what would have happened if those top players had been on the field from minute 1. The Highlanders will be relieved to pick up the win here but will know that they still have some areas to sharpen up on. Josh Ioane had another good game and he's really growing into that #10 shirt. He was very good with ball in hand but still needs to improve some of his game management but overall had a good game. The Jags will be disappointed - they could have won this game but never quite got there. In the very tight South African conference, all points are critical so they will be disappointed to have lost today. Still plenty of great rugby to come on The Roar this weekend with the Chiefs taking on the Sharks next! Thanks for your comments and questions and let me leave you with one - will the Jags and Highlanders make the Finals this year do you think?
Danny
Roar Pro
On the other hand it was 71st minute Jags needed the ball and ran roughshod for a few minutes. Final penalties 11-7 J-H
Danny
Roar Pro
O’Keefe hands out string of last 10 penalties may well be a takeaway. One senses he takes issue with purposeful infringing but closes one eye for a bit while sorting it out. Maybe players don’t respect him? Whatever it is he seems to whistle more close controversial games than most.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Embarrassing home town ref in the end. The Kiwi boys sure let the Argies know that we have the 16th man. Seriously, is this not so blatant and obvious it is ridiculous? Even the Kiwi commentators can't ignore it.
Neel
Roar Guru
Highlanders hold on in the end. Jaguares look really competitive.
Nobrain
Roar Guru
Bonus is ok for Jaguares. I take it.
Oliver Matthews
Expert
PENALTY!! It looked like the Jags had stolen the ball back at the ruck just before the final siren sounded but the ref had actually called for another penalty for the Highlanders. The Jags aren't happy about that though and there's some handbags - lots of frustrations coming out from the Jags there. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 80:00
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Highlanders just killing time here with slow rucks. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 79:50
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Highlanders maul rolls a bit from the line out and then Smith starts to get his pods of forwards working to drive the ball forward and kill time. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 79:30
Oliver Matthews
Expert
PENALTY!! Jags really making things easy for the Highlanders in the closing few minutes with their poor discipline. Highlanders are now up Jags 10m line and will have the line out. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 78:10
Harry
Guest
Was just logging on to say the same. Good game but when in the balance the ref has given 3 very questionable decisions in a row to the Highlanders. Home town refs really detract from the integrity and standing of this competition.
Oliver Matthews
Expert
PENALTY!! Oh that's a silly error from the Jags - a few of them broke off the first maul and the ref calls truck and trailer and gives the Highlanders an important penalty. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 77:10
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Jags get their own line out, they set the maul and look to get it rolling. Highlanders: 32 Jaguares: 27 Time: 76:10
Bing
Guest
I reckon!