Jaguares upset Rebels

Melbourne: A Will Genia hamstring injury has compounded the blow of a shock 25-22 Rebels’ loss to the Jaguares. Genia was in stellar form in Melbourne, orchestrating the side’s opening try and playing a critical role in another on Saturday afternoon.

It was on the way to helping Dane HaylettPetty to his 49th-minute try that the halfback appeared to hurt his hamstring, immediately coming off the ground.

Genia’s would be arguably the biggest loss the Rebels could suffer, especially on the eve of a make-or-break South Africa tour for the side.

It won’t have helped that his replacement, Michael Ruru, was far from his best rugby on Saturday, with his kick charged down as the Jaguares snatched what was ultimately a match-winning score.

After leading 19-6 at the 50-minute mark, the Rebels conceded two tries to one in the next 25 minutes, conceding a yellow card along the way, trailing by three points. Nearly three minutes after the 80-minute mark, Rebels captain Adam Coleman opted for a scrum off a penalty advantage to try and snatch the win, but a Jaguares pilfer ended their hopes.

Ill-discipline cost the Rebels early in the piece, with three penalties in seven minutes allowing Nicolas Sanchez to put the Jaguares on the board.

It was some Genia magic that created the first real chance for the Rebels, with the halfback throwing a clever dummy with Bill Meakes running a strong support line, to collect the final pass and score their opener. The Rebels tried to engineer more scores out of advantage opportunities, with a crossfield kick missing its target and Marika Koroibete pushed into touch just short of the line.

Koroibete didn’t have any of that trouble, though, second time around, running in an easy try standing on his own on the right edge. Sanchez had the chance to close the gap in the 44th minute, with his second of the day, as the Rebels’ penalty count grew.