Super Rugby: Jaguares overpower Kings in 11-try romp
Last Updated: 01/05/16 8:30am
Argentina's Jaguares notched their second win in Super Rugby and first at home with an 11-try romp for a 73-27 victory over South Africa's Kings at Velez Sarsfield.
Pumas No 8 Leonardo Senatore led the way with a hat-trick of tries as the Jaguares, who lost to the Sunwolves in Tokyo last week, ended a seven-match losing streak in style.
Centre Juan Martin Hernandez's fine first-minute try set the tone for a blistering opening quarter from the Jaguares as he followed up his chip over the defence to score in the corner.
Four tries in 18 minutes left the Port Elizabeth-based Kings stunned and six before the break gave the Puma-laden home side a 40-15 half-time lead.
The visitors replied with a penalty from fly-half Elgar Watts and tries by flanker Chris Cloete and centre Stefan Watermayer.
But the Jaguares maintained their scoring rhythm in the second half and their superior handling skills at speed helped them to five more tries to the delight of a passionate home crowd of about 12,000.
Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez finished with a personal tally of 23 points from nine conversions and a try in a superb performance which also saw him set up two other touchdowns.
Santiago Cordero, Agustin Creevy, Manuel Montero, Matias Alemanno, Emiliano Boffelli and skipper Martin Landajo were the Jaguares' other tryscorers
The Kings, who returned to Super Rugby this season after one previous campaign in 2013, had second-half tries from flanker Thembelani Bholi and lock Steven Sykes.
"It was a good win, we've had a few bad games recently so we had to play some good rugby," said Landajo.
"We did it here at home so we're happy but this is a long tournament so we need to keep improving.
"It's a relief to have got such a win, we had tried some of these things in other matches and they didn't come off so it's like a new beginning."