It wasn’t meant to be for the Brumbies as their season came to a crashing halt as they were comprehensively beaten by a red hot Jaguares side 39-7 in Buenos Aires this morning.
The Jaguares had the game sewn up within the opening 20 minutes with a 20-0 lead and it proved a mountain too much to climb for the Brumbies as they put in most disappointing performance of 2019.
The Brumbies were their own worst enemy as the lineout that had worked so well in 2019 failed to function and 31 missed tackles allowed the Jaguares to pounce on every mistake the Brumbies made to leave them in control of the game.
There was a glimmer of hope at half time as Fainaga’a scored his 12th try of the season but some Orlando Matias magic in the second half with two tries sealed the win and it wasn’t the way that a string of Brumbies players would have wanted to play in their final game for the club.
The Match
The home side got off to a hot start with a try within four minutes to former Brumby Tomas Cubelli after the Brumbies made a mess of a chip kick in their 22 as Toni Pulu and Irae Simone got in each others way to allow Cubelli to swoop in and score.
It went from bad to worse in the opening minutes as the Brumbies lineout struggled to execute and a penalty in a handy position for a high tackle from Lealiifano on Cubelli saw Joaquin Diaz Bonilla make it 10-0 after seven minutes.
It seemed like Groundhog Day as the Jaguares added another penalty goal with Folau Fainga’a having real trouble at the lineout with the Jaguares able to take advantage and virtually set up camp in the Brumbies half.
The game looked like it was out of reach after the opening quarter as the Jaguares scored their second try to Tomas Lavanini and jumped out to a 20-point lead. The Brumbies could consider themselves unlucky as a scrum went down and made to play the ball before Agustin Creevy got the penalty for the Brumbies holding on as Lachlan McCaffrey got isolated coming off the back of the scrum.
Nothing seemed to go right for the Brumbies, making it difficult to get anything going as they spent the majority of the game in their own half and unable to use their strengths and leave the Jaguares in control.
There was a glimmer of hope right on half time as the Brumbies were able to finally get on the board with a try to Folau Fainga’a on their first real attacking raid in the opposition 22 after taking advantage of some Jaguares ill discipline and an earlier scrum penalty. The score of 20-7 at half time seemed unlikely given the Jaguares dominance of the half.
The Brumbies started the second half with better intent but, again, it was their execution that let them down. First off a knock on from a good attacking chance and then all their good work was undone after a Lealiifano grubber kick was charged down and Moroni picked it up and set sail for the line and drew in three defenders before a pop pass back inside to Matias Orlando for the try at 27-7.
That made an already difficult task impossible as the Brumbies tried anything to get back into it as they struggled with the Jaguares defensive line speed. Diaz Bonilla had the ball on the string as he kept the Brumbies in their own end with deft kicking and make it difficult for the Brumbies to gain any metres from clearing kicks.
Orlando showed his magic again just after the 60-minute mark as he stepped his way through some poor defence for his second try and made it 34-7.
The Brumbies toiled until the final whistle but couldn’t add anything but the Jaguares added a late try to Emiliano Boffelli with the Brumbies trying to get something late in the game to end their season on a disappointing note with a 32- point loss.
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The Game Changer
The game was all but over within the opening 20 minutes as the home side ran out to a 20-point lead.
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[one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
Jaoquin Diaz Bonilla – There was a hot field of contenders from the Jaguares with a real team effort in the win but Diaz Bonilla’s game control and kicking was instrumental in their big win.[/one_third]
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Wallaby Watch
Folau Fainga’a had real battle with the lineout all night. The Brumbies props worked hard for little reward with the occasional penalty earned at scrum time. The Brumbies backs couldn’t really get into the game and were playing catchup from early on.[/one_third]
The Details
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]BRUMBIES 7
Tries: Fainga’a
Conversions: Lealiifano
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[one_half last=”yes”]JAGUARES 39
Tries: Orlando 2, Cubelli, Lavanini, Boffelli
Conversions: Diaz Bonilla 4
Penalties: Diaz Bonilla 2
[/one_half]
Cards
Nil
