Reds unravel against the Jaguares

The Jaguares stormed from behind to drive their way to a 43-27 victory in a game of two halves in Buenos Aires.

The Queensland Reds take in their loss to the Jaguares at Jose Amalfitani Stadium on February 15.

A 15-3 penalty count from Argentine referee Federico Anselmi saw the Queensland Reds’ discipline unravel as the Jaguares stormed from behind to drive their way to a 43-27 victory in a game of two halves in Buenos Aires.

The Reds made all the running in the first half, scoring four sparkling tries to halfback Tate McDermott, flanker Liam Wright and a brace to winger Feauai-Sautia to a solitary and marginally dubious try from a crosskick to Emeliano Boffelli on the halftime bell. The ball almost certainly was knocked forward into Queensland centre Hunter Paisami before Boffelli regathered to ground the ball in goal.

That made the halftime score 24-12 to the Reds but already there were warning bell sounding as Anselmi had penalised them 7-1 in the first half. Arguably, all of those penalties were valid. But once again it was the blatant errors he was ignoring from the Jaguares – the coming in from the side, the failure to release the tackled player, the offsides – that had the Reds fuming with resentment.

In one instance, the Jaguares knocked the ball on metres from the Reds line and McDermott scrambled a kick away. It failed to find touch but instead of saying “no advantage”, Anselmi allowed play to continue and immediately awarded a penalty to the home team.

Queensland needs to be asking some very pointed questions of SANZAAR. Why was a neutral referee provided for the opening two rounds of Super Rugby, when South African Rasta Rasivhenge controlled the Jaguares’ matches against the Lions and the Hurricanes but a local referee used for their match? And why were they the only side out of the 15 in the competition required to play their first three matches away from home – well away from home, Canberra, Johannesburg and Buenos Aires. H.ve played their first match of the season at home only once since they won the title in 2011. It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

Argentina's Jaguares lock Lucas Paulos, right, is tackled by Australia's Reds centre Hamish Stewart, centre, and prop JP Smith, centre back.

That said, the Queenslander certainly assisted in their second half destruction, starting with their lineout. It had been so solid throughout the opening stanza but it suddenly developed the wobbles as the Reds lost their first two throws of the second half.

How quickly the brilliant attacking football of the first half gave way to the rumbling, one-dimensional power game the Jaguares wanted to play. In quick order they had scored the first of their four driving maul tries and when Domingo Miotti landed an easy penalty goal, the Argentina side was rumbling on its way.

A penalty goal from Jock Campbell temporarily thwarted them as Queensland extended its lead to 27-22 and for a moment the Reds may have had a chance to seize back control.

Paisami, having a storming game, broke through out wide and grubbered ahead for Henry Speight who needed only a favourable bounce to score. He didn’t get it. Still, the Reds scrum was in familiar attacking territory and on the march. Number eight Harry Wilson – another to have an outstanding game, at least until he succumbed to fatigue – couldn’t control the ball at the back but James O’Connor still was able to able to make a lunge the line. In the scramble of bodies, Anselmi was unsighted and asked him if he had scored. “No, I didn’t,” O’Connor answered honestly, having lost the ball in the act of grounding it.

Again the Reds scrum muscled up but to the astonishment of absolutely no-one in the crowd, Anselmi somehow found a Jaguares penalty even as their scrum was being demolished. And that, effectively, was that.

On the back of a string of penalties, the Argentine side advanced to within metres of the Reds line where the ball squirted out of contact, Captain Wright dived on it and initially Anselmi signalled all was fine. Five seconds later he not only changed his mind and not only penalised Wright but, for good measure, issued a yellow card as well.

The Jaguares needed no further invitation and scored three times while Wright was in the naughty chair but at least their final try, to replacement halfback Tomas Cubelli, the former Brumbies player, actually involved running the football.

The Reds who have travelled some 18,000km to get to Buenos Aires for their third away match of their season, got little benefit from their bench, which was doubly disappointing because they had shepherded their resources to leave some of their usual starters in the reserves.

On the evidence of the first half, any number of Queensland players must be attracting the attention of Dave Rennie all the way over in Glasgow. Wilson continues to improve although his needs to work harder to eliminate the errors from his game. The good thing is that he is not making the same mistakes. The bad news is that he is creatively adding new ones. Still, he is a big man with a huge motor and the Reds just need to find a way to fully utilize him.

With Queensland’s 9-10-12 combination of McDermott, O’Connor and Hamish Stewart all combining well and directing proceedings – at least when play is running their way – Paisami turned in an outstanding 60 minutes before mysteriously being replaced. Certainly while he continues to play in that fashion, the Reds should be able to ride out Jordan Petaia’s injury rehab in reasonable style.

And as unfashionable as he might look, Campbell continues to be a revelation. He barely looks like a footballer but he is elusive, talented and, importantly, is not lacking in courage.

Yet when the wheels fell off the Reds, there was no mechanic there to reattach them. Wright, though he has the making of a fine leader, needs to become more assertive while tight-head Taniela Tupou, who today brought up his 50th appearance for Queensland, needs to show the authority of a man whose next milestone is a Super Rugby century.