Super Rugby Round One round-up: Argentina’s Jaguares roar in debut

Buenos Aires Jaguares scored an epic comeback win over Central Cheetahs in their first Super Rugby match on Friday night to highlight the opening round of the 2016 season.

Jaguares players celebrate after winning in their Super Rugby debut against Central Cheetahs on Friday night. Charl Devenish / AFP / February 26, 2016

Highlights from round one of Super Rugby:

Western Force 19-25 Melbourne Rebels

Fullback Reece Hodge scored 20 points as Melbourne Rebels got their Super Rugby campaign off to a winning start with a 25-19 victory over Western Force in Perth on Saturday.

Debutant Hodge ran in two tries, both of which he converted, to go with two penalties after number eight Adam Thomson had crossed the tryline in the first half in just an eighth away victory for the Rebels in their sixth season of Super Rugby.

Flyhalf Jonno Lance scored all the Rebels points with a try that he converted and four penalties.

New South Wales Waratahs 30-10 Queensland Reds

The Waratahs got their Super Rugby season off to a solid start with a comfortable victory over their oldest rivals the Reds at Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday.

Tries from skipper Michael Hooper, winger Mark Carraro and debutant centre David Horwitz gave them a 20-0 half-time lead and scrumhalf Nick Phipps crossed after the break to bag the bonus point.

Canterbury Crusaders 21-17 Waikato Chiefs 27

Fullback Damian McKenzie and skipper Sam Cane scored tries in the last 15 minutes to give the Chiefs victory in a hard-fought contest against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.

The Chiefs also had tries from winger Shaun Stevenson and centre Setareki Tamanivalu, while McKenzie contributed seven points with his boot as the twice champions rallied from a 13-8 halftime deficit.

Crusaders flyhalf Richie Mo’unga scored one of the home side’s tries while fullback David Havili got the other and kicked 11 points on his first appearance.

Team mate Reed Prinsep had a debut to forget, however, the loose forward clashing heads with Mitchell Graham moments after coming on as a replacement and being taken off the pitch on a mobile stretcher after a long delay while he received treatment.

Japan Sunwolves 13-26 Johannesburg Lions

Japan’s Sunwolves put in a brave performance on debut but went down to the Lions at a sold-out Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium as Super Rugby came to Asia for the first time.

Skipper Shota Horie fired up the 25,000 crowd when he scored the Tokyo-based outfit’s first try after 61 minutes but for all their disciplined efforts, the competition new boys were unable to hold out the seasoned South Africans.

Central Cheetahs 33-34 Buenos Aires Jaguares

The Jaguares shrugged off a poor start and overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Cheetahs in a high-scoring debut on Friday.

At one stage the Argentine side, one of three new teams in the competition, were down to 13 players after two yellow cards but they rallied in the second half to stage a fine comeback against their South African hosts.

ACT Brumbies 52-10 Wellington Hurricanes

The Brumbies laid down a marker to the rest of Super Rugby with a demolition of last year’s losing finalists the Hurricanes in their season-opener at Canberra Oval on Friday.

The Brumbies, who had the meanest defence in the competition last year, all but shut down the high octane Hurricanes attack and ran in seven tries to earn a bonus point and a small measure of revenge for their semi-final defeat last season.

Auckland Blues 33-31 Otago Highlanders

The Blues held off a late surge from the Otago Highlanders to stun the reigning Super Rugby champions in a thrilling all-New Zealand season-opener at Eden Park.

Two penalties from flyhalf Ihaia West and a 71st-minute try from lock Patrick Tuipulotu were enough to turn around a 24-20 halftime deficit and give Tana Umaga a winning start to his reign as Blues coach.

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