Hurricanes overcome sluggish start to top Jaguares

The Hurricanes have overcome a sluggish start to beat the Jaguares in Argentina and claim their first victory of the season.

After being upset by the Bulls last week in Pretoria, the Wellington franchise have rebounded with a 34-9 bonus point win at José Amalfitani Stadium.

A scrappy first half saw teams head to the sheds with a 12-6 scoreline in favour of the Hurricanes.

Wing Ben Lam opened the visitors’ account with a try under the posts in the ninth minute, and blockbusting centre Ngani Laumape – last year’s leading try scorer – added another score 10 minutes before halftime.

The boot of Nicolas Sanchez kept the Jaguares within reach as he slotted two penalties during the first spell.

The home side closed the gap to three points after another Sanchez penalty to open the second half.

The game finally opened up in the last 30, with the Hurricanes crossing for three more tries through Matt Proctor and reserves Vince Aso and Blade Thomson.

Mario Ledesma’s men failed to cross the line despite coming achingly close on several occasions, only for unforced errors to defuse their chances.

The play of the game was a back-handed Blade Thomson bullet pass to prop Alex Fidow, who returned the favour as Thomson crossed for a spectacular try.

Inaccuracy was a theme for both sides, as the Jaguares and Hurricanes conceded 11 and 15 penalties respectively. The Jaguares only made good on 70% of their tackle attempts, not far behind the Hurricanes who converted on 81%.

The Hurricanes are now tasked with taking on the Crusaders for their home opener next weekend, while the Jaguares will take on the Waratahs in Buenos Aires.

HURRICANES 34 (Lam, Laumape, Proctor, Aso, Thomson tries, B. Barrett 3 con, Garden-Bachop pen) JAGUARES 9 (Sanchez 3 pen) HT 12-6