Duhan van der Merwe breaks Stuart Hogg’s try record in Scotland victory

Duhan van der Merwe became Scotland men’s record try-scorer after he touched down in their tight 31-19 victory over Uruguay.

The 29-year-old scored Scotland’s third try after 26 minutes on Saturday, which was the 28th time he has crossed the whitewash at Test level.

Van der Merwe duly surpassed the tally of Stuart Hogg, who went over on 27 occasions for Scotland between 2012 and 2023.

When the powerhouse scored, the visitors were 19-0 in front with Ewan Ashman and Luke Crosbie also touching down, but they then suffered a fright.

A spirited Uruguay outfit levelled matters with a quarter of the match to go thanks to tries from Santiago Alvarez, Felipe Etcheverry and Manuel Diana.

Los Teros sensed that an upset was on the cards but Patrick Harrison and Pierre Schoeman re-established Scotland’s dominance and secured the victory for Gregor Townsend’s men.

There was a late change to Townsend’s team with Scott Cummings dropping out with a foot injury.  Gregor Brown came in and Ewan Johnson was promoted into the 23-man squad, which was entirely composed of Glasgow and Edinburgh players given the game fell outside the international calendar.

Uruguay had the early pressure and their forwards drove within metres of the try line before failing to make the most of two penalties, one which they kicked to the corner and another which Etcheverry kicked wide of the posts.  It would not be the last time Scotland were grateful for the Uruguayan fly-half’s wayward kicking.

The momentum shifted with an incredible kick from Ben Healy, who found touch near Uruguay’s 22-metre line from deep within his own.

Scotland soon won a penalty and Ashman forced himself over for his fourth try of the tour in the 12th minute after the hooker followed up his own lineout to drive over at the back of a maul.

There was a scrappy spell of kicking before Matt Fagerson’s interception put Scotland on the front foot, and he ultimately fed Crosbie to cross for his first Scotland try after Diego Arbelo had been shown a yellow card for halting George Horne illegally after a kick-and-go penalty.

Van der Merwe was handed his memorable moment thanks to an unselfish pass from Kyle Rowe.  At 29, the Edinburgh winger could go on to set a final tally that will be very difficult to surpass.

The historic moment was nearly followed by a turnaround that would have been talked about for years.

Scrum-half Alvarez got Uruguay off the mark after intercepting Healy’s pass in front of the posts.  Etcheverry then went over from close range before taking his tally to nine points.

The fly-half somehow hit the post with a straightforward kick early in the second half after Brown was penalised for a high tackle but his deft kick forward led to the maul which saw Diana go over just after the hour mark.

Etcheverry was well wide with the conversion attempt that could have put the hosts ahead and the introduction of Adam Hastings and Jamie Dobie in the half-back positions brought some urgency to the visitors.

Harrison went over from a maul and Schoeman crossed inside four minutes before another substitute, Kyle Steyn, saw a late try disallowed.

The teams

Uruguay:  15 Ignacio Álvarez, 14 Juan Bautista Hontou, 13 Juan Manuel Alonso, 12 Tomás Inciarte, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 1 Ignacio Peculo
Replacements:  16 Joaquín Myszka, 17 Mateo Sanguinetti, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Manuel Diana, 22 Santiago Gini, 23 Joaquín Suárez

Scotland:  15 Harry Paterson, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (c), 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Gregor Brown, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Kyle Steyn

Referee:  Damian Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO:  Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Posolo Tuilagi channels his inner Jonah Lomu in STUNNING 50-metre try

The youngest member of possibly the most famous rugby family is making waves on the Test scene as French international Posolo Tuilagi showed off his strength to run 50-odd metres for a solo special.

Tuilagi who weighs a whopping 149 kilograms and stands 194 centimetres tall made his Test debut earlier this year in the second-row, quickly proving he is ready for the highest level of the game.

His latest exploits come from France’s clash with Uruguay on their South American tour where he was handed the ball on the halfway line with a little bit of space to work with and boy did he maximise it.

As he got the ball defenders did their best to slow him down but only bounced off the charging bull of a second-row. Tuilagi went on to beat three defenders before the fourth decided not to even attempt tackling him.

It was the kind of try one would see in a mismatched secondary school game, one that had shades of the great Jonah Lomu moving his giant body so fast and so powerfully.

Posolo Tuilagi making an absolute mockery of test rugby pic.twitter.com/37oz8Iwz2v

― Old Downbadians RFC (@OldDownbadians) July 10, 2024

South American tour

France would go on to win the game 28-43 making it two wins from two in South America having beaten Argentina 13-28 despite fielding a youthful team.

Les Bleus’ time in the continent has not been without its drama after Melvyn Jaminet was sent home for making racist remarks in a video posted online. On an even worse note two players ― Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou ― were arrested in connection with a sexual assault claim from their time in Mendoza.

The team will need to turn their attention back to Los Pumas who they face this weekend in Buenos Aires for the second Test between the teams.

Damian McKenzie-inspired All Blacks reach the World Cup quarter-finals

New Zealand made sure of their place in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after they thrashed Uruguay 73-0 at the OL Stadium.

Los Teros were impressive in the opening quarter and almost took the lead through Manuel Ardao but, after Damian McKenzie touched down, the All Blacks cut loose.

Ian Foster's men made far too many errors in the first 20 minutes, but they eventually found their rhythm and secured the all-important bonus-point by the break through Richie Mo'unga, Will Jordan and Cam Roigard, who added to McKenzie's earlier score.

The full-back then completed his brace while Fletcher Newell, Leicester Fainga'anuku (three), Jordan and Tamaiti Williams also crossed the whitewash in the second period to complete a dominant win.

It sealed New Zealand's passage into the last-eight of the World Cup, where they will be joined by either France or Italy, who go head-to-head on Friday for the other qualification spot in Pool A.

After putting nearly 100 points on Italy last week, the All Blacks had to wait 20 minutes to make the breakthrough here, McKenzie crossing for the first of their 11 tries.

They had wrapped up the bonus point before half-time thanks to further tries from Mo'unga, who slotted over five conversions, a stylish effort from Jordan and scrum-half Roigard.

Uruguay did not allow their heads to drop, but they were powerless to stop New Zealand crossing seven times in the second half, with Fainga'anuku scoring a hat-trick.

Newell and Williams were among the scorers, while McKenzie finished off a brilliant move, and Jordan also claimed a second try.

It was again a landmark evening for veteran lock Sam Whitelock, who, after becoming the most capped All Black last week, celebrated a 150th Test appearance and a record 23rd at the World Cup.

New Zealand will now prepare for their quarter-final clash, most likely against Ireland, in what will be a much stiffer test of their title credentials.

They may also be without tighthead duo Tyrel Lomax and Newell for that encounter after both props were forced off injured.

That leaves Nepo Laulala as their only recognised tighthead, although Williams can cover there if needs be.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Tupou Vaa'i, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements:  16 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Caleb Clarke

Uruguay:  15 Rodrigo Silva, 14 Gaston Mieres, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Matias Benitez, 18 Ignacio Peculo, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Uruguay fight back from 14 points down to claim maximum over Namibia

Uruguay fought back from a 14-point deficit to overcome Namibia and claim their first victory of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, winning 36-26 in Lyon on Wednesday.

The win puts the South Americans level on points with New Zealand in Pool A, who they face next Thursday, although the All Blacks have a game in hand.

Baltazar Amaya (2), German Kessler, Santiago Arata and Bautista Basso tries helped Uruguay to the bonus-point as they continue to star at the World Cup.

Felipe Etcheverry contributed to the scoreboard with three conversions while Felipe Berchesi added five points of his own through a penalty and conversion.

Namibia's try scorers were wings Gerswin Mouton and JC Greyling, with fly-half Tiaan Swanepoel kicking 16 points via two conversions and four penalties.

Namibia, playing their fourth and final Pool A game in 18 days, led 20-12 at half-time but were punished for ill-discipline as their winless run at six World Cups was extended to 26 matches.

The Africans' prop Johan Coetzee, captain Tjiuee Uanivi and replacement Desiderius Sethie were all yellow carded for high tackles, with the latter's upgraded to red, and Uruguay cruised to their fourth World Cup win.

Namibia had lost heavily in all three of their previous group games, against Italy, New Zealand and France ― but they made a flying start.

Wingers Mouton and Greyling both went over in the corner for early converted tries to give the Africans a 14-0 lead.

Uruguay, who had given France a tough test in a 27-12 opening defeat and led Italy 17-7 at half-time before losing 38-17, responded through Amaya's close-range try.

After Swanepoel's penalty, Uruguay cut the deficit to 17-12 in the 28th minute as hooker Kessler touched down after a driving maul from a lineout.

Swanepoel landed his second penalty to extend Namibia's lead to 20-12 at half-time and a third at the start of the second period made it 23-12.

But Uruguay poured on the pressure and after Namibia prop Coetzee had been shown a yellow card, Amaya produced a brilliant finish in the corner for his second try.

🇺🇾 That was some finish from Uruguay's Baltazar Amaya. #URUvNAM pic.twitter.com/xJCSHfLuCA

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 27, 2023

Etcheverry converted and the gap was closed to four points at 23-19 and Uruguay took the lead for the first time in the match in the 54th minute through scrum-half Arata's superb solo effort, which was also converted.

Namibia skipper Uanivi was shown a yellow card for a high tackle with 18 minutes left and within a minute his side were down to 13 men when replacement prop Sethie was sin-binned for the same offence.

The latter's was later confirmed as a red card and Uruguay punished them further as another converted try from winger Basso put them 33-23 ahead.

Swanepoel and Berchesi swapped penalties to make it 36-26 before Uruguay replacement Eric Dosantos was sin-binned for a high tackle in the closing stages.

The teams

Uruguay:  15 Baltazar Amaya, 14 Bautista Basso, 13 Felipe Arcos Perez, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Eric Dosantos, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

Namibia:  15 Cliven Loubser, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Alcino Izaacs, 12 Danco Burger, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 6 Prince Gaoseb, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Jason Benade
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Desiderius Sethie, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 PJ Van Lill, 20 Max Katjijeko, 21 Adriaan Booysen, 22 Jacques Theron, 23 Andre van der Bergh

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Italy's second half surge sees off talented Uruguay side

Italy were made to work extremely hard by Uruguay but their greater quality told in the second half as they emerged with a 38-17 victory in the Rugby World Cup Pool A encounter.

The Uruguayans were much the better side in the first half and deservedly went 17-7 ahead at the interval through Nicolas Freitas' score, a penalty try and Felipe Etcheverry's drop-goal.

Lorenzo Pani had initially given the Azzurri the lead but it wasn't until the start of the second period when they finally got to grips with the game.

They took advantage of Andres Vilaseca's yellow card to touch down twice while the centre was off the field through Michele Lamaro and Monty Ioane.

Lorenzo Cannone then went over to complete the bonus-point and Juan Ignacio Brex made sure of the victory with 20 minutes remaining.

That put them to the top of their group ahead of their huge match with New Zealand where a win will take them into the quarter-finals for the first time ever.

Los Teros were exceptional in their opening encounter against France and they were similarly impressive in the opening half on Wednesday.

Italy attempted to stamp their mark on the encounter early, putting pressure on in the scrum and taking play inside the opposition 22.

Under pressure, the South Americans eventually folded with Pani on hand to touch down and give his side the advantage.

Kieran Crowley's men continued to move the ball with pace but Uruguay were often alive to the situation and they benefited from the Azzurri's overambition.

Captain Lamaro was surprisingly the culprit when the openside's pass was easily intercepted by Etcheverry.

That moment set off a series of events which led to a pair of Italy yellow cards and Los Teros taking the lead into the interval.

Etcheverry was brought to ground five metres out but Italy began to infringement with regularity and it ended in Niccolo Cannone being sin-binned.

Instead of going for the posts, the Uruguayans opted to kick for touch and as they surged towards the line, Danilo Fischetti illegally brought down the maul, leading to a yellow card and penalty try.

Down two important forwards, the Azzurri would concede again.  They initially handled that period well but the superb Los Teros increased the intensity and Freitas was on hand to cross the whitewash.

🇺🇾 A well-worked try for Nicolas Freitas earlier. #ITAvURU #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/9fiSlxlwf5

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 20, 2023

Cannone and Fischetti returned but Crowley's charges would find themselves 10 points behind at the break through Etcheverry's drop-goal.

The Italian head coach needed a response from his charges at the start of the second period and they received a boost when Vilaseca was sin-binned for a glancing blow on the head of Pani.

It would prove to be the turning point as the Azzurri sensed their opportunity and began to dominate the game.

Lamaro's first try in international rugby brought Italy back into the contest before Ioane crossed the whitewash to take them ahead.

Italy very much had the momentum and they struck the decisive blow when Lorenzo Cannone crossed the whitewash for a 28-17 lead.

Uruguay would not recover and Brex went over to increase their buffer before Paolo Garbisi's late penalty rubberstamped the win.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Giovanni Pettinelli, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Paolo Odogwu

Uruguay:  15 Baltazar Amaya, 14 Gaston Mieres, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Diego Arbelo, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Bautista Basso

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Tom Foley (England)

France labour to victory over impressive Uruguay as they go two from two

France were given a major scare in front of their home fans as Uruguay pushed them all the way to their 27-12 victory in the Rugby World Cup on Thursday.

The game in Lille was predicted to be a comfortable result for Les Bleus but it was anything but as Los Teros will view this as a match they could have won.

Indeed, Uruguay were in the contest throughout and possibly should have been playing against 14 men for over 50 minutes but for a Bunker Review deciding that Romain Taofifenua's dangerous tackle on Santiago Arata warranted no more than the yellow card.

That reprieve ultimately helped France avoid a potential banana skin against their South American opponents, with tries from Antoine Hastoy, Peato Mauvaka and Louis Bielle-Biarrey seeing them to victory.  Melvyn Jaminet would add 12 points off the tee.

Nicolas Freitas and Baltazar Amaya were Uruguay's try-scorers in an excellent performance as they caused the French plenty of problems on the night.

Anthony Jelonch returned from a lengthy ACL injury absence to captain the team as part of 12 changes to the starting XV which had opened the tournament with an impressive victory over three-time world champions New Zealand in Paris.

Les Bleus went in front from an early Jaminet penalty after Uruguay had collapsed the scrum.

The home fans, though, were then left in stunned silence when Jaminet failed to gather a deep cross-field kick out on the touchline.  Freitas picked up the loose ball to dart down the left and score in the corner.

France responded with a try in the 11th minute when Hastoy burst through off the scrum, which Jaminet converted and then further extended the lead with another penalty.

Taofifenua was sent to the sin bin after the French lock caught Arata high with his shoulder going into a tackle ― which remained at a yellow card after review by the TMO, Welshman Ben Whitehouse, when on another night it could have been deemed a red.

Uruguay, playing their first match in Pool A, had a try ruled out in the 35th minute when Felipe Etcheverry dived over, with Tomas Inciarte penalised for an obstruction in the build-up as France went into half-time 13-5 ahead.

France thought they had scored a try early in the second half when Gabin Villiere collected a loose ball to run in, but it had been inadvertently knocked-on off Jelonch's shoulder.

🇫🇷 FRANCE WIN BUT WHAT ABOUT URUGUAY?! #FRAvURU #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/tlJJG35DRg

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 14, 2023

Uruguay then reduced the deficit to 13-12 after Amaya powered over in the corner and Etcheverry made the conversion.

France, though, responded again when Mauvaka touched down under the posts after a fortunate ricochet from Etcheverry's clearance to settle the home fans' nerves once again.

Any hopes of a comeback from Los Teros were finally ended after Bielle-Biarrey went over in the corner before Sekou Macalou's breakaway 80-metre try was ruled out by the TMO for kicking through the ruck.

The teams

France:  15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Anthony Jelonch (c), 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Bastien Chalureau, 20 Thibaud Flament, 21 Francois Cros, 22 Baptiste Couilloud, 23 Thomas Ramos

Uruguay:  15 Baltazar Amaya, 14 Bautista Basso, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Matias Benitez, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Lucas Bianchi, 21 Carlos Deus, 22 Agustin Ormaechea, 23 Felipe Berchesi

Referee:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Italy scrape past spirited Uruguay

Italy got the job done but were made to work very hard for their 17-10 victory over Uruguay in their Autumn Nations Series Test in Parma on Saturday.

In a scrappy and error-ridden encounter, the home side held a slight edge throughout and in the end they outscored Uruguay by two tries to one with Pierre Bruno and Hame Faiva dotting down and their other points came courtesy of two conversions and a penalty from Paolo Garbisi.

For Uruguay, Santiago Civetta scored a try which Agustin Ormaechea converted and Federico Favaro succeeded with a penalty.

The opening exchanges were disjointed with both sides committing numerous handling errors which meant there was a stop-start nature to the game.

The Azzurri soon gained the upper hand and in the 13th minute they launched an attack deep inside Los Teros’ 22 and Garbisi did well to find Bruno with a long pass before he stepped past a defender on his way over the whitewash.

Uruguay struck back courtesy of a penalty from Favaro in the 20th minute but the rest of the half was a dour affair characterised by a plethora of unforced errors from the teams.

Italy had a bulk of the possession and territory during that period but despite upping the ante on attack, they could not breach the South Americans’ defence.

In the 35th minute, the visitors were reduced to 14 men when Tomas Inciarte was sent to the sin bin for entering a ruck illegally close to his try-line.

Despite having a numerical advantage, the Azzurri would not cross Uruguay’s try-line again before half-time but Garbisi did add another penalty which gave his side a 10-3 lead at the interval.

There was more of the same in the second half with both teams making little headway on attack and in the 46th minute Italy had a try disallowed when Luca Bigi was blown up for crawling over the try-line off the back of a maul.

Shortly afterwards, Bigi was replaced by Test debutant Faiva, who was immediately in the thick of the action when he barged over for a try after a lineout drive close to Los Teros’ try-line.  It did not take long for Uruguay to respond as five minutes later Ormaechea also went over from close quarters.

The final quarter was an arm wrestle with Uruguay spending long periods in Italy’s 22 but although the hosts finished the match with 14 players – after Danilo Fischetti was yellow carded in the closing stages for foul play – they held on for the win and in doing so ended a 16-Test losing streak.

Wales claim top spot in Pool D after unconvincing win

Wales will take on France in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after finishing top of Pool D following a 35-13 triumph over Uruguay in Kumamoto.

It was a poor display from Warren Gatland’s men but they started well enough, going 7-0 ahead via Nicky Smith’s try.  However, they struggled to get to grips with a feisty and energetic Uruguayan outfit.  The 2019 Grand Slam winners conceded far too many penalties and Felipe Berchesi made no mistake off the tee to keep Los Teros in the contest at the interval.

Wales’ greater quality eventually told, though, as Josh Adams, Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies scores, as well as a penalty try, secured the bonus-point triumph.

The South Americans stunned Fiji earlier in the competition and they were rewarded for their performance here as German Kessler touched down, but a weakened Welsh team did enough to prevent them repeating the feat from Round One.

Los Teros deserve immense credit after producing an incredibly resilient display.  Centres Andres Vilaseca and Juan Manuel Cat carried hard and gave plenty of go-forward, while their industrious forwards and the booming boot of Santiago Arata got them out of several difficult situations.

Uruguay were also brave, if ill-disciplined, in defence, but they were eventually breached as the constant pressure resulted in Smith crossing the whitewash from a close-range surge.

That score could have opened the floodgates but the Uruguayans were impressive and frustrated the Six Nations outfit, earning a number of penalties which resulted in Berchesi reducing the arrears from the tee.

TRY!

Fully deserved and it's Uruguay's leading try-scorer of 2019, Kessler who sneaks over#ITVRugby #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/oLKpWaUyvY

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 13, 2019

It was just reward for their endeavour and they continued to thwart Wales’ attack towards the end of the first half.  That led to several infringements and Uruguay’s fly-half duly added a second three-pointer to remarkably close the gap to one point at the break.

The Welsh needed to go back to basics and cut out a few of the errors which had pervaded their play.  Gatland’s side duly did that and an excellent looping pass from Rhys Patchell saw Adams touch down unopposed.

Those mistakes weren’t completely eradicated, however, and they were denied another score when Hadleigh Parkes’ assist to Hallam Amos was called back after correctly being adjudged forward.

Wales remained on the front foot, though, and Santiago Civetta was yellow carded following a series of indiscretions from Uruguay.  With their opponents a man down in the pack, they set up a maul and, when it was illegally collapsed, referee Angus Gardner awarded a penalty try.

That score took the game out of the South Americans’ reach but they continued to fight and deservedly went over through Kessler.  It brought them to within eight points of the Welsh but two late tries from Williams and Davies rubber-stamped the victory for the group winners.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Smith, Adams, Penalty try, Williams, G Davies
Cons:  Halfpenny 4

For Uruguay:
Try:  Kessler
Con:  Berchesi
Pens:  Berchesi 2

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Wyn Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 James Davies, 22 Tomos Williams, 23 Gareth Davies

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Leandro Leivas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c), 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Juan Echeverria, 18 Juan Pedro Rombys, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Manuel Diana, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Tomas Inciarte, 23 Rodrigo Silva

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Seven-try Wallabies cruise past Uruguay

The Wallabies proved too strong for Uruguay as they ran out comfortable 45-10 winners in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Oita on Saturday.

Australia were full value for their win as they held the upper hand for long periods and scored seven tries, but their discipline let them down as Adam Coleman and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto were both yellow carded for dangerous tackles.

Dane Haylett-Petty and Tevita Kuridrani crossed for a brace of tries apiece and their other five-pointers were scored by Test debutant Jordan Petaia, Will Genia and James Slipper while Christian Lealiifano succeeded with five conversions.

For Uruguay, Manuel Diana scored a try and Felipe Berchesi added a penalty and a conversion.

Australia had the better of the opening exchanges and after setting up several phases inside Uruguay’s 22, Kurtley Beale joined the line at pace before offloading to Haylett-Petty, who cantered in for the first try.

Despite that score, Los Teros fought back bravely and narrowed the gap in the 13th minute courtesy of a Berchesi penalty, after a high tackle from Michael Hooper on Nicolas Freitas.

A minute later the Wallabies were reduced to 14 men for the first time when Coleman was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Rodrigo Silva.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Wallabies scored the only points during Coleman’s spell on the sidelines courtesy of a try from Petaia, who stepped past two defenders on his way over the whitewash after gathering a pass from Beale deep inside Uruguay’s 22.

On the hour-mark, the Wallabies had another man in the sin bin when Salakaia-Loto was blown up for a high hit on Manuel Ardao but, once again, that did not hamper them too much.  In the 31st minute Beale and Petaia traded passes before the debutant offloaded to Kuridrani, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Just before half-time, Uruguay thought they had narrowed the gap when Tomas Inciarte crossed the whitewash but his effort was disallowed when television replays revealed an indiscretion from Diana at a ruck in the build-up.

Thank you to all of our fans for your support this week.

We have defeated @RugbyUruguay 45-10 in our third #RWC2019 pool match!#AUSvURU #GoldBlooded #TeamRugby pic.twitter.com/bRf8MtB7PU

— Wallabies (@wallabies) October 5, 2019

That meant the Wallabies were leading 19-3 at half-time and shortly after the restart Kuridrani crossed for his second five-pointer after a bullocking run in the build-up from Taniela Tupou, who came on as a replacement at the start of the second half.

Australia were in control during the rest of the half as they dominated most facets of play.  In the 53rd minute a strong run from Jack Dempsey was rounded off by Genia, who burst through a gaping hole in Los Teros’ defence before dotting down.

On the hour-mark, Genia turned provider when he offloaded to Slipper, who barged over from close quarters for his first Test try and Haylett-Petty sealed the win when he crossed for his second try in the 68th minute.

To their credit, Uruguay did not surrender and were rewarded when Diana scored their only try from close range in the game’s dying moments.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Haylett-Petty 2, Petaia, Kuridrani 2, Genia, Slipper
Cons:  Lealiifano 5
Yellow Cards:  Coleman, Salakaia-Loto

For Uruguay:
Try:  Diana
Con:  Berchesi
Pen:  Berchesi

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Jordan Petaia, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 David Pocock, 21 Will Genia, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Adam Ashley-Cooper

Uruguay:  15 Rodrigo Silva, 14 Federico Favaro, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Franco Lamanna, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Juan Echeverria
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Joaquin Jaunsolo, 18 Juan Pedro Rombys, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 Felipe Etcheverry, 23 Agustin Della Corte

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Five-try Georgia too good for Uruguay

Georgia registered their first win at the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they beat Uruguay 33-7 in their Pool D encounter in Saitama on Sunday.

The Lelos were full value for their win as they were in control for long periods and their forwards deserve special praise as they laid the platform for this victory with a dominant display especially in the tight exchanges.

Uruguay, who announced themselves at the global event with a stunning win over Fiji in their tournament opener, could not replicate that performance and although they were competitive during the first half, they faded badly after half-time.  Los Teros finished the match with 14 men when Facundo Gattas was red carded for a shoulder charge to the head of Shalva Sutiashvili in the closing stages.

For Georgia, Alexander Todua, Otari Giorgadze, Levan Chilachava, Jaba Bregvadze and Giorgi Kveseladze crossed the whitewash and Tedo Abzhandadze succeeded with four conversions.

Andres Vilaseca scored Uruguay’s only try which was converted by Felipe Berchesi.

Georgia did most of the early attacking and were camped inside Uruguay’s half during the game’s first quarter.  In the ninth minute, the Lelos launched an attack from a scrum on Uruguay’s five-metre line and the ball was shifted wide to Todua, who opened the scoring when he dotted down in the left-hand corner.

The next 20 minutes was a slugfest as the sides tried to gain the ascendancy but that period was characterised by numerous unforced errors from both teams.

Georgia still held the upper hand though and on the half-hour mark they extended their lead when Giorgadze showed great power and determination before barging over for his team’s second try off the back of a scrum close to Los Teros’ try-line.

Abzhandadze slotted the conversion which meant Georgia held a deserved 12-0 lead but it did not take long for Uruguay to respond as shortly afterwards they narrowed the gap with a well-taken try.

This, after Los Teros launched an attack from a lineout just outside Georgia’s 22 with Rodrigo Silva breaching his opponents’ defence with a powerful run, before throwing an inside pass to Andres Vilaseca, who had an easy run-in next to the posts.

Berchesi added the extras and had a chance to score further points soon after when Guram Gogichashvili was penalised for an indiscretion at a ruck, but the Uruguay pivot pushed his shot at goal wide of the mark.

Congratulations to @Mastercard Player of the Match Otari Giorgadze who clocked up some huge stats during #GEOvURU

19 carries (#1)
81 metres (#1)
4 defenders beaten
1 clean break
2 offloads
1 try#StartSomethingPriceless #POTM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/4RmQBGooGP

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2019

That meant that the match was evenly poised as the teams changed sides at the interval with Georgia holding a slender 12-7 lead.

But the Lelos were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and scored two unanswered converted tries inside the half’s first quarter.

First, another powerful run from Giorgadze inside Uruguay’s 22 was rounded off by Chilachava at close quarters in the 43rd minute, before Bregvadze secured the bonus point for his team when he crossed from a driving maul in the 52nd minute.

Two minutes later, the Georgian captain delivered a teasing chip kick which Silva gathered close to his try-line but he was caught in possession and spilled the ball before Kveseladze gathered and scored an easy five-pointer.

The final quarter was evenly contested but Uruguay’s misery was compounded when Gattas received his marching orders in the 75th minute, with Georgia easing to a victory that puts them third in Pool D.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Todua, Giorgadze, Chilachava, Bregvadze, Kveseladze
Cons:  Abzhandadze 4

For Uruguay:
Try:  Vilaseca
Con:  Berchesi
Red card:  Gattas

Georgia:  15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Zura Dzneladze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Lasha Malaguradze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Otari Giorgadze, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Lasha Lomidze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze (c), 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements:  16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Beka Gigashvili, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Beka Gorgadze, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Merab Sharikadze, 23 Soso Matiashvili

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Nicolas Freitas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c), 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Juan Pedro Rombys, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Juan Echeverria, 18 Diego Arbelo, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 21 Manuel Ardao, 22 Agustin Ormaechea, 23 Leandro Leivas

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Uruguay stun Fiji in Kamaishi

Uruguay caused a major shock in their Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji as they notched a 30-27 win over the Pacific Islanders in Kamaishi on Wednesday.

Although Fiji outscored them by five tries to three, Los Teros were full value for their win as they were the more disciplined side throughout and held a 24-12 lead at half-time.

Felipe Berchesi was Uruguay’s hero as he finished with a 15-point haul after slotting three penalties and three conversions while Santiago Arata, Manuel Diana and Juan Manuel Cat scored tries.

Poor goal-kicking proved costly for Fiji with Josh Matavesi and Ben Volavola missing several shots at goal.  In the end, Matavesi only succeeded with one conversion with Mesulame Dolokoto, Eroni Mawi, Api Ratuniyarawa, Nikola Matawalu (2) all crossing the whitewash.

Fiji were fastest out of the blocks and opened the scoring in the eighth minute courtesy of a try from Dolokoto off a well-worked lineout move on Uruguay’s five-metre line.

From the set-piece, the ball came out to Leone Nakarawa, who got a pass out to Dolokoto and he dotted down in the corner.

It did not take long for Los Teros to strike back and in the 14th minute German Kessler did well to pounce on a loose ball inside Fiji’s half before offloading to Arata, who stepped past three defenders before crossing under the posts.

Midway through the half, Fiji struck back with Mawi’s try from close quarters which Matavesi converted but that would be the last time they would score points during the opening period as Los Teros dominated the latter stages of the half.

In the 23rd minute, Diana crossed from close range before Cat scored their third try five minutes later after Rodrigo Silva set him up with a strong run in the build-up.

Berchesi converted both tries and added a penalty in the 38th minute which mean Uruguay were brimming with confidence at the interval.

VIDEO: Fiji 27-30 Uruguay. https://t.co/JO01qmmBfG #FIJvURU #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/cfHCQxgtbH

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 25, 2019

Fiji came out firing in the second half and were rewarded eight minutes after the restart when Ratuniyarawa dotted down next to the posts after gathering a pass from Tevita Ratuva.

Inexplicably, Matavesi missed the easy shot at goal and shortly afterwards first-choice fly-half Volavola came on as a replacement for Alivereti Veitokani and Volavola would soon take over the goal-kicking duties, but he too would battle off the kicking tee.

On the hour-mark, Berchesi added a penalty which gave his side a 27-17 lead before Matawalu spotted a gap at a ruck close to Uruguay’s try-line before crossing for his side’s fourth try in the 67th minute.

Volavola failed with the conversion attempt before Berchesi gave his side a vital eight-point lead via another well-taken penalty in the 76th minute.

The Pacific Islanders upped the ante on attack during the game’s closing stages and although they were rewarded with another try from Matawalu in injury time, it was not enough to deny Uruguay a famous and deserved win.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Dolokoto, Mawi, Ratuniyarawa, Matawalu 2
Con:  Matavesi

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Arata, Diana, Cat
Cons:  Berchesi 3
Pens:  Berchesi 3

Fiji:  15 Alivereti Veitokani, 14 Filipo Nakosi, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Josh Matavesi, 9 Henry Seniloli, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Mosese Voka, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu (c), 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 Tevita Ratuva, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Mesulame Dolokoto, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Tuvere Vugakoto, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Samuel Matavesi, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Levani Botia

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Nicolas Freitas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c), 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Juan Pedro Rombys, 19 Franco Lamanna, 20 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Etcheverry, 23 Tomas Inciarte

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

England finish on a positive note

England bowed out of the Rugby World Cup with a 60-3 win as they saw off another spirited performance from Uruguay at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Nick Easter was the man of the match after scoring a hat-trick of tries, becoming the oldest player to achieve such a feat in international history.

But once again there were areas of frustration for England's supporters as they only led 21-3 at the break, with Uruguay staying well in touch.

After the break there was an improvement from Stuart Lancaster's men and only the RFU will know if it's enough to save his job.

England's other try-scorers were Anthony Watson (2), Jack Nowell (3), Henry Slade and a penalty try as they ran away with the game in the second half.

Following the high-octane and bruising events at England's home, Twickenham, between Australia and Wales, the term 'damp squib' came to mind at the City of Manchester Stadium as Lancaster's tenure as nation head coach once again went under the spotlight.  Only a big win would do.

It didn't start as he would have liked as not one minute in, England's forwards were offside from a clearing kick and Felipe Berchesi made it 0-3.  To make matters worse a dumb play from hooker Tom Youngs, where he performed a neck roll on a Uruguayan player, halted England's first attack.

England did get a slice of luck in the eighth minute as ball moved wide left led to Nowell kicking through for Watson to finish superbly.  However, that luck refers to the television match official not checking whether Watson was in front of his wing, which he looked to have been.

There were no doubts about England's second try though as they reverted to their close game, with Easter at the tail of a maul that looked like causing Uruguay plenty of bother for the remaining hour.  Farrell, again, successfully sent over the conversion to extend the scoreline to 14-3.

Easter was over again five minutes later, this time from a pick and go one metre out, as England moved into a 21-3 lead.  Unbelievably all the pre-game talk about the future was overshadowed by England's oldest player taking the early headlines.  All the young backs could do was watch.

It was a second quarter to forget as errors that have blighted England's pool campaign resurfaced, with cohesion in attack seeing them fail to trouble the scoreboard for the rest of the half.  One small positive was that Uruguay captain Santiago Vilaseca was yellow-carded on 40 minutes.

Fortunately for those representing England's north in the stadium, they would only have to wait two minutes for the game's fourth score and it arrived from a set play off the back of a scrum fifteen metres out.  Danny Care started it before Watson had the easy finish wide out for 26-3.

The spark of life to ignite what had been a disappointing game thus far for England?  It turned out to be another false dawn as knock-ons from first captain Chris Robshaw and then James Haskell foiled attacks in Uruguay's red zone.  The South Americans escaped courtesy of the blunders.

But cometh the hour, cometh a young player who England in all honesty should have backed a long time ago in the international arena, as Slade charged down Agustín Ormaechea's box kick on halfway before showing good footballing skills to dribble all the way to the score.  It was 31-3.

Cue the floodgates and England's sixth try which came down the same left touchline Slade had just ran.  This time it was Alex Goode sparking an attack before Care held the final pass until the perfect time for Nowell to finish off.  This time Farrell slotted the extras to make it 38-3.

England were looking to turn the screw and end their World Cup campaign on a high note.  Once again they went back to the line-out drive which served them so well in the first-half and once again it was Easter getting the try, his hat-trick.  This after Jonathan Joseph replaced Farrell.

Another player set to be hunting his treble was Nowell as he was put over thanks to a beautiful pass from Ford on 70 minutes that made it 48-3.  And he wouldn't have to wait long for that moment as this time Slade sent over the Exeter Chief as England led 53-3 with four minutes to play.

Uruguay attempted to finish with the last say but that went the way of England via a penalty try after a lovely break-out from their own 22, with referee Chris Pollock adjudging the visitors to have jumped offside on their own line.  Ford, for the first time, added the two points as England made it a ten-try showing.

Man of the match:  It has to go to the veteran Nick Easter.  What a way to prove that age should not be a barrier in the game.  Some may say he should he have been picked from the outset but he will be delighted with how he performed in what is likely to be his Test swansong.

Moment of the match:  After the end of the match, the majority of the crowd remained in their seats to applaud the England team and sing Swing Low.  That will help a hurting group of players.

Villain of the match:  A clean game.  No problems.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Watson 2, Easter 3, Slade, Nowell 3, Penalty try
Cons:  Farrell 4, Ford

For Uruguay:
Pen:  Berchesi
Yellow:  Vilaseca (slowing down ball — 40 mins)

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 David Wilson, 19 George Kruis, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustín Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 5 Jorge Zerbino, 4 Santiago Vilaseca (c), 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti.
Replacements:  16 Nicolas Klappenbach, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Alejo Corral, 19 Mathias Palomeque, 20 Diego Magnol, 21 Agustín Alonso, 22 Alejo Durán, 23 Manuel Blengio.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Fiji win scrap with 14-man Uruguay

Fiji ended their Rugby World Cup campaign on a high with a 47-15 win over 14-man Uruguay in Milton Keynes on Tuesday.

John McKee's men were determined to end the tournament on a positive note after coming in with such high hopes, and did so by scoring seven tries, including two penalty tries stemming from their dominant scrum.

Fiji were far from perfect and never really cut Uruguay open with ease, but this was a much-needed win after tough losses to England, Australia and Wales — wrapped up by Nemani Nadolo scoring their seventh try to take his tally to 17 points.

Uruguay though stole the show — mainly through their first World Cup tries in 12 years by Carlos Arboleya and Agustin Ormaechea.

The night ended on a sour note though when the influential Ormaechea was shown a red card by referee JP Doyle, after picking up his second yellow.

By doing so he made history, joining Fiji's Marika Vunibaka from 1999 in an exclusive club of players to score and receive a red card in a World Cup match.

Everything else about Wednesday's game was overwhelmingly positive.

We would never have expected Uruguay to still be within this game at half-time before the tournament started, but the 20th and final side to qualify for the World Cup backed up the outstanding performances from Tier Two nations in this World Cup with another impressive outing.

To top it off, a record 30,048 crowd packed into Stadium MK — another outstanding turnout.

Fiji started fast — Lepani Botia looking as though he'd scored in the corner only for the replays from the TMO to show that he'd knocked on.

However, Ormaechea's no-arms tackle to dislodge the ball meant that the referee awarded the penalty try, with Nadolo converting.

Nemia Kenatale was the next man to score, the scrum-half in for Niko Matawalu diving over in the corner as Fiji led 12-0 after ten minutes.

Alejo Duran's penalty put Uruguay on the board and all of a sudden los Teros had the wind in their sails.

Santiago Gibernau's touchline break put them behind the Fijian defence to set up an attack where Arboleya hit a great line into gaping hole, crashing over by the posts.

Such were the happy scenes as the Uruguayan players mobbed their hooker, you'd have thought they had won the World Cup.  It was their first World Cup try since 2003.  12-0 was now 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Fiji's scrum however was utterly dominant, with Alejo Corral struggling up against Leroy Atalifo and the pressure eventually forcing referee JP Doyle to award a second penalty try with Uruguay motoring backwards near their own line.

Leone Nakarawa made sure Fiji had their try bonus point before the break with a deserved score after his good tournament, leaving Fiji ahead 26-10 at half-time.

Uruguay's spirit though was outstanding.  As Fiji's attack plodded from left to right Sunia Koto was caught out by a loose pass and the South Americans hacked forward, outnumbering Fiji to the ball before Ormaechea scurried around the side of the ruck to send his coach's box into euphoria.

Duran couldn't convert, his effort coming back off the crossbar, but at 26-15 Uruguay were right in the contest.

Tevita Cavubati's try off the bench stopped any comeback in its tracks, a stray elbow from Rodrigo Silva after he scored sparking off the first of two scraps between both sides but he escaped a punishment.

The same couldn't be said after Kini Murimurivalu's try — taking Fiji to six — when Campese Ma'afu and Ormaechea scrapped off the ball.  Both were yellow carded by the referee, with Ormaechea's second yellow meaning he was sent off.

Nadolo still had time to dive over, bringing up seven tries, but the 47-15 scoreline didn't tell the true story — how Uruguay had battled away and won over the crowd, making history with their two tries.

They will go into Saturday's game against England full of confidence.

Man of the Match:  Credit must go to Fiji's scrum, but while he never got on the scoresheet Lepani Botia was a massive presence on attack with a number of carries and impressive offloads.

Moment of the Match:  The scenes were quite incredible when Carlos Arboleya crashed over, as he was mobbed by the Uruguayan replacements and made history.

Villain of the Match:  The off-the-ball niggle at the end was pretty unnecessary from both sides.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Penalty Try 2, Kentale, Nakarawa, Cavubati,
Cons:  Nadolo 6
Yellow Card:  Ma'afu

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Arboleya, Ormaechea
Con:  Duran
Pen:  Duran
Red Card:  Ormaechea

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Lepani Botia, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 3 Leroy Atalifo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Taniela Koroi, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Netani Talei, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Timoci Nagusa,

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Alejo Duran, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 5 Jorge Zerbino, 4 Santiago Vilaseca (c), 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Alejo Corral.
Replacements:  16 German Kessler, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Mateo Sanguinetti, 19 Mathias Palomeque, 20 Franco Lamanna, 21 Juan De Freitas, 22 Jeronimo Etcheverry, 23 Francisco Bulanti.

Referee:  JP Doyle (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (SARU), Leighton Hodges (WRU)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (RFU)

Wallabies cruise to top of Pool A

Australia moved top of Pool A with the biggest win of the World Cup so far, downing Uruguay 65-3 at Villa Park on Sunday.

After Wales' comeback win over England, Australia continued to ease into the competition, scoring 11 tries against the pool's weakest side.

The difference in size and physicality was evident from the off, and the Wallabies ran in five tries in the first-half, with the outstanding Sean McMahon getting them off the mark.

Joe Tomane and Dean Mumm crossed either side of a sin-binning for Quade Cooper before Henry Speight's first Test try sesaled the bonus point.

There was time for one more try before the break from Ben McCalman as Australia led 31-3 at the break, Felipe Berchesi getting the lone penalty for los Teros.

Drew Mitchell scored two tries early in the second-half, with McCalman and McMahon also completing braces, and Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani chipping in with tries late on.

The Wallabies are now top of the pool ahead of their two key clashes with England and Wales.  A win at Twickenham next Saturday would guarantee them a spot in the last eight, almost certainly ending the hosts' chances in the process.

While they were far from perfect, McMahon was particularly impressive, unlike Cooper, who did little to convince Michael Cheika that he should start against England.

Australia broke the first tackle on each of their first two charges, and they should have had the first try after just five minutes.  A quick lineout saw Kurtley Beale away down the left.  He didn't have the legs to go all the way, and Mitchell couldn't collect his inside pass, with a free run-in had he done so.

It made little difference though, two minutes later they were over, McMahon taking on David Pocock's role in the maul and then peeling off to score sprint over untouched on the blindside.  Cooper's conversion was wide but Australia led 5-0.

There was no question it was going to be a one-sided affair, and Australia had their second almost from the restart.  The impressive McMahon started it, breaking through tackles and going past halfway.  The ball was then spread wide where Beale kicked through.  Cooper was first on it before finding Tomane outside him for the score.  Cooper added the conversion from the other touchline as the Wallabies took complete control.

While Australia were completely dominant, they then lost fly-half Cooper to a needless yellow card.  With Uruguay on the attack, he caught Agustin Ormaechea round the neck before throwing him to the ground.  For a player desperately trying to prove a point to Cheika, it was a disastrous error, although Uruguay were unable to take advantage after kicking for the corner, with their maul going nowhere against the Australian defence.

Despite being a man down, Australia continued to look the more dangerous side, however Uruguay did get their first points of the game through a Berchesi penalty after Will Skelton had tackled a man without the ball.

As soon as Cooper returned, Australia were over again.  Mumm was the man to cross on this occasion, collecting Nick Phipps' delayed ball before handing off Leandro Leivas and dotting down.  Fresh from his ten-minute break, Cooper missed the conversion from the right.

And the bonus point came after 31 minutes when Australia again opened up space out wide, with Skelton's half-break then setting up the Wallabies to go through the hands, the final pass coming from Mitchell to Speight.  Côoper converted to make it 24-3.

The next try didn't take long, another carry from Skelton seeing the ball spready quickly.  Cooper drifted left before finding McCalman on his shoulder to go clean through.  From in front Cooper added the easy extras.

Uruguay started the second-half strongly, with a couple penalties kicked to the corner setting them up in good position.  Unfortunately their lack of physicality was a major issue, and Australia were able to keep them at bay relatively comfortably.

Australia, on the other hand, were much more clinical.  On their first attack of the half, Mitchell produced a mazy run, stepping out of two tackles before powering his way over, although the two men free outside him would have been fuming had he not gone all the way after ignoring them.

He had his second on 51 minutes after more good work through the centre by the Wallabies.  When the ball came out, a simple wrap with Cooper opened up the space and he then sent a pin-point wide pass out to the Toulon winger to dive over on the left.  Cooper again missed the conversion, albeit from a tough angle.

The one concern for Cheika will have been seeing Skelton holding his shoulder as he was forced off.  He looked to have a shoulder problem, which would be a cruel blow after growing into the game following a shaky start.

On the hour it was McCalman's turn to grab his second, with the Wallabies showing quick hands after a charge from Rob Simmons, Beale in particular giving immediately for the scoring pass.  Cooper added his fourth conversion of the afternoon to make it 48-3 to the Wallabies.

They crossed the half-century with just over ten minutes to go, an unstoppable rolling maul ending with McMahon dotting down for his second of the game.

Toomua then added the tenth try, and the pick of the bunch after some fabulous build-up work.  Cooper went clean through in midfield, stepped one man and then produced a sublime 20-metre pass to Beale.  He shipped it on to Toomua for the easy finish.  His miserable afternoon from the kicking tee continued though as he pulled his conversion wide once more.

Uruguay thought they finally had their first try of the tournament with five minutes remaining, were deemed to have been held up after turning the ball over on the Wallaby line.

Instead Australia came back up the pitch and Kuridrani went over on the right with the final play of the game, Cooper adding the tough conversion to complete a mixed game for him.

Man of the match:  As well as his two tries, Sean McMahon was simply a beast with ball in hand, constantly breaking tackles.  Slotting into David Pocock's role on the back of rolling mauls, the Wallabies have another excellent flanker to add to their already impressive collection.

Moment of the match:  Australia were dominant throughout, but their tenth try was probably the best of the lot, Quade Cooper showing his best side with a huge sidestep and then perfect pass for Kurtley Beale to send Matt Toomua over.

Villain of the match:  The game was played in good spirit, but Quade Cooper's judo throw of Agustin Ormaechea, while not particularly dangerous, was certainly stupid.  Michael Cheika can't afford to take chances on a player like that in the big games coming up.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  McMahon 2, Tomane, Mumm, Speight, McCalman 2, Mitchell 2, Toomua, Kuridrani
Cons:  Cooper 5
Yellow Card:  Cooper

For Uruguay:
Pen:  Berchesi

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Henry Speight, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Sean McMahon, 6 Ben McCalman, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dean Mumm (c), 3 Toby Smith, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Rob Simmons, 21 Will Genia, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Leandro Leivas, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan De Freitas, 5 Franco Lamanna, 4 Santiago Vilaseca (c), 3 Mario Sagario, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti.
Replacements:  16 Nicolas Klappenbach, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Carlos Arboleya, 19 Alejandro Nieto, 20 Diego Magno, 21 Fernando Bascou, 22 Alejo Duran, 23 Alberto Roman.

Venue:  Villa Park, Birmingham
Referee:  Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Wales win but hat-trick hero ruled out

Wales will be sweating over the fitness of Liam Williams while Cory Allen was ruled out of the World Cup after their 54-9 win over Uruguay on Sunday.

Again injuries have soured the Welsh day as full-back Williams and centre Allen both limped off with respective issues.  Williams' however did not seem too serious as he fought with the medical staff to remain on the field.  It's not an ideal situation though with a crunch match against England ahead next weekend.

Following the biggest shock in World Cup history on Saturday in Brighton, Wales would have been advised to rein in any thoughts of a procession.

Uruguay, maybe buoyed by that Japan performance, were courageous in defence and for large parts frustrated a Welsh side looking to start well.

Positives though will come in the form of Samson Lee's try-scoring return and also Gareth Davies' assured showing in Rhys Webb's scrum-half jersey.  They both crossed along with left wing Hallam Amos and outside centre Allen, who picked up a first-half hat-trick of tries before a hamstring injury soured his day.

As expected, a couple of pockets of blue were engulfed by a sea of red fans at the Millennium Stadium as Wales looked to join England with a bonus-point victory to kick-off their pool campaign.  It was billed to be a foregone conclusion but after twenty minutes, it was anything but.

Felipe Berchesi knocked over an early penalty for Los Teros before adding a second soon after as Wales infringed.  Remarkably Uruguay led 0-6.

Cardiff was silenced but normal service was resumed on fifteen minutes when, after snubbing three points, the Welsh drove over the whitewash, with returning tighthead prop Lee the man last to his feet.  Priestland would knock over the relatively simple conversion to push Wales ahead.

Cue the floodgates as Priestland began to unlock a Uruguay starting XV who were all making their Rugby World Cup debut.  His chip over the top after nineteen minutes allowed centre Allen to gather and dot down as the Welsh moved 14-6 in front, much to the delight of their supporters.

Uruguay would not roll over and credit to them as reward came in the shape of a third Berchesi penalty, this time for a Jake Ball high tackle.

Those three points proved only to act as a momentary speed bump for Wales though, as Allen scored again on 30 minutes for a worrying try from Uruguay's perspective as their midfield defence was losing its early solidity.  Scott Williams was the provider this time after a strong carry.

Allen's hat-trick was complete in added time of the first-half as Justin Tipuric and wing Amos combined to send him over for an easy walk-in.

With the bonus point in the bag and 28-9 up at the break, the second-half focus for Wales would be to accumulate a score and when Tipuric went over on 49 minutes that looked to be the start of it.  However, referee Romain Poite correctly went to the TMO who confirmed he had knocked on over the line.

It only delayed the inevitable though as scrum-half Davies' silky run off the tail of a line-out helped set up Amos for Wales' fifth score and there was more to come, with Davies spotting a gap on the fringe of a maul to go in on the hour mark.  Wales were now flying at 40 points to 9.

Despite Tipuric being rewarded for his hard work with a try off the back of a maul on 71 minutes before Davies' second late on, errors would halt a Welsh surge in the closing stages as attention now turns to Twickenham and that clash between two of Pool A's heavyweights.  The World Cup is warming nicely.

Man of the match:  Justin Tipuric was his usual hard-working self while Gareth Davies impressed at nine, but for his hat-trick outside centre Cory Allen takes this award.  This gong won't improve his mood though after his "significant" hamstring injury.

Moment of the match:  The whole 80 minutes from Uruguay.  Few expected anything like the solidity they showed early on and credit to the South Americans, who'd been beaten 40-0 by Japan earlier this year.  They led 0-6 and fought admirably throughout.

Villain of the match:  A clean game in Cardiff.  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Lee, Allen 3, Amos, G Davies 2, Tipuric
Cons:  Priestland 7

For Uruguay:
Pens:  Berchesi 3

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Ross Moriarty, 22 Lloyd Williams, 23 Matthew Morgan.

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 5 Jorge Zerbino, 4 Santiago Vilaseca, 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Alejo Corral.
Replacements:  16 German Kessler, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Mateo Sanguinetti, 19 Franco Lamanna, 20 Agustin Alonso, 21 Juan De Freitas, 22 Alejo Duran, 23 Francisco Bulanti.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Uruguay squeeze past Spain

Uruguay came from behind to claim a deserved 16-15 victory over Spain in Montevido on Saturday.

The hosts made a bright start and raced into a 6-0 lead, after 15 minutes, via two penalties from Agustín Ormaechea but Spain struck back with a three-pointer of their own from Igor Genua.

Spain held a 10-6 lead at half-time after Genua scored a try, which he also converted, just before the break.

The visitors raced into a 15-6 lead, shortly after the restart, when Matías Tudela scored their second try but Uruguay finished stronger thanks to another Ormaechea penalty and a converted try by Gastón Mieres.

The scorers:

For Uruguay:
Try:  Mieres
Con:  Ormaechea
Pens:  Ormaechea 3

For Spain:
Tries:  Genua, Tudela
Con:  Genua
Pen:  Genua

Uruguay:  15 Gastón Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Andrés Vilaseca, 12 Alberto Román, 11 Jerónimo Etcheverry, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustín Ormaechea, 8 Diego Magno, 7 Juan De Freitas, 6 Juan Gaminara, 5 Santiago Vilaseca, 4 Franco Lamanna, 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Nicolás Klappenbach (c), 1 Alejo Coral.
Replacements:  16 Arturo Ãvalo, 17 Francisco Jiménez, 18 Rodolfo De Mula, 19 Mathías Palomeque, 20 Alejandro Nieto, 21 Fernando Bascou, 22 Alejo Durán, 23 Joaquín Prada.

Spain:  15 César Sempere, 14 Marcos Poggi,13 Ignacio Contardi, 12 Javier Canosa, 11 Matías Tudela, 10 Daniel Snee, 9 Pablo Feijoo (c), 8 Federico Negrillo, 7 Glen Rolls, 6 Gauthier Gibouin, 5 Jesús Recuerda, 4 Matt Cook, 3 Jesús Moreno, 2 Fabien Rofes, 1 Beñat Auzqui.
Replacements:16 Jon Insausti, 17 Joe Hutchinson, 18 Alejandro Blanco, 19 Anibal Bonán, 20 Adam Newton, 21 Igor Genua, 22 Nil Baró, 23 Agustín Ortíz.

Venue:  Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee:  Chris Assmus (Canada)

USA edge out Uruguay

Depsite a late comeback form the home side, the USA managed to beat Uruguay 27-22 in a World Cup qualifying match in Montevideo on Saturday.

Thirteen points in the last six minutes have boosted Uruguay's chances of claiming the Americas 2 spot at Rugby World Cup 2011 after the first leg of their play-off.

Uruguay had won only one of their 10 previous meetings with the Eagles, their most recent loss being a 43-9 defeat in Salt Lake City last year, and at 27-9 they would have been left with a mountain to climb in Florida next weekend

However, Uruguay full back Jeronimo Etcheverry -- a member of their IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy winning side of 2008 -- stepped forward to kick two penalties and convert his last minute try to cut the deficit to five points at the final whistle to the delight of the 2,000 strong crowd

The 21-year-old's fourth penalty of the night and his converted try came when Uruguay enjoyed a one-man advantage after Eagles replacement Mike Petri was sent to the sin-bin by Argentinean referee Javier Mancuso

"We are happy to win, but honestly a bit disappointed that we gave up so many points in the last quarter" admitted Eagles coach Eddie O'Sullivan

"We would have liked to walk away with a larger point spread, but in the end are happy to take away the victory"

The Eagles had taken the lead in the 15th minute at the Charrua Stadium with scrum half Tim Usasz's try, before fly half Nicolas Morales got the home side on the board with a penalty five minutes later Another try for Kevin Swiryn and a Mike Hercus penalty, though, gave the visitors a 13-3 advantage at half time

Centre Junior Sifa touched down eight minutes after the break and this time Hercus was able to add the conversion Once more though Los Teros came back at their visitors with Etcheverry kicking his first penalty in the 55th minute to make it 20-6

Uruguay's cause was not helped by the loss of prop Mario Sagario to the sin-bin just past the hour mark, and while Etcheverry kicked another penalty, the Eagles pulled further away with replacement Alipate Tuilevuka's try

However with Uruguay's scrum and maul remaining strong, Etcheverry brought them back into the match and strengthened their chances of taking the Americas 2 place alongside two-time winners Australia, Italy, Ireland and Europe 2 in Pool C at Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand

The teams:

Uruguay:  15 Jeronimo Etcheverry, 14 Martin Crosa, 13 Juan Llovet, 12 Joaquin Pastore, 11 Leandro Leivas, 10 Nicolas Morales, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Rodrigo Capo (c), 7 Alfredo Giuria, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 5 Matias Fonseca, 4 Carlos Protasi, 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Martin Espiga, 1 Rodrigo Sànchez,
Replacements:  16 Carlos Arboleya 17 Alejo Corral 18 Juan Rombys 19 Juan Alzueta 20 Manuel Martinez 21 Alejandro Silveira 22 Tomas Jolivet

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Junior Sifa, 11 Kevin Swiryn, 10 Mike Hercus, 9 Tim Usasz, 8 Nic Johnson, 7 Todd Clever (captain), 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 John Van der Giessen, 3 Will Johnson, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Mate Moeakiola.
Replacements:  16 Brian McClenahan 17 Jacob Sprague 18 Alec Parker 19 Jonathan Gagiano 20 Mike Petri 21 Nese Malifa 22 Pate Tuilevuka

Spain beat Uruguay in Montevideo

Spain won the second match of their South American tour in Montevideo on Saturday when they beat a young Uruguay side 18-10.  This comes after their victory over Chile earlier in the week.

The tour is a part of Spain's determination to maintain its place in Division 1 of the European Nations Cup.  After this they play in amateur tournament in France against England Counties and Belgium.  Then in November they face the Czech Republic in the second round of the two-year competition.

The Lions' victory was based on its defence against the higher-ranked -- by two places -- Teros.

Spain scored first when wing Juan Cano went over for a try.  Uruguay levelled the scores with a try by Juan Labat, Mahieu Gratton kicked a penalty goal and then the Labat got a second try for the Teros to lead 10-8 at the break.

The Teros were attacking for a long time in the second half when suddenly David Mota intercepted and ran some 80 metres to score under the posts.  Gratton converted and then kicked a penalty goal, which made the score 18-10 with 18 minutes to go.

In this time the Teros' experienced prop Pablo Lemoine, who plays for Montauban in France, and Spanish hooker José Maria Bohorquez were sent to the sin bin.

Scorers:

For Spain:
Tries:  Cano, Mota
Con:  Gratton
Pen:  Gratton

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Labat 2

Teams

Uruguay:  Santiago Carracedo, Manuel Martinez, Guzman Barreiro, Juan M Llovet, Matias Arocena, Andres Vazquez, Martin Espiga, Nicolas Klappembach, Gonzalo Peyrou, Pablo Bueno, Juan Alzueta, Francisco Bulanti, Nicolas Morales, Nicolas Grille, Juan Campomar, Joaquin Pastore, Martin Crosa, Ignacio Crosa, Agustin Perez Del Castillo, Rodrigo Sanchez, Federico Capo, Mario Sagario, Juan M Alvarez, Carlos Protasi, Ignacio Conti (captain), Juan Labat, Horacio Rivera, Pablo Lemoine
Coaches:  Passadore Alberico, Berrutti Francisco

Spain:  15 César Sempere, 14 Juan Cano, 13 Raúl Turrion, 12 Javier Canosa, 11 Rafael Álvarez, 10 Mathieu Gratton, 9 Mathieu López, 8 Iván Criado, 7 Martín Ignacio Aceña, 6 Rafael Camacho, 5 César Bernasconi, 4 Guillermo Barcena, 3 Igor Alberro, 2 José Maria Bohorquez, 1 Oscar Ferreras.
Replacements (from):  Manuel Mazo, César Caballero, Jon Insausti, Manuel Serrano, Sergio Souto, Manuel Olivares, Juan González, David Mota, Pablo Feijoo, Julien Tortoulou, Cyril Hijar, Juan

Referee:  Pablo Deluca (Argentina)

Pratichetti`s hat-trick sinks Uruguay

Italy wing Matteo Pratichetti scored a hat-trick as the Azzurri topped plucky Uruguay 29-5 at Gran Parque Central in Montevideo on Saturday.

Pratichetti's three tries saw Italy romp to a 22-0 lead by the 44th minute.

Uruguay, incorporating young players into its squad after failing to make the World Cup, attacked throughout but couldn't break through until the 77th minute for a try by fullback Matias Arocena.  But Italy finished with a fourth try in injury time.

Fullback Chris Burton, one of two new Italy caps to start along with centre Enrico Patrizio, notched 14 points.

His only penalty started off Italy, but it couldn't score again until the 40th minute when Pratichetti went over in his left corner.

The wing was over again a minute into the second half, with Burton's conversion.

Three minutes later Pratichetti completed his hat trick again near the flag, and Burton converted from touch for 22-0.

Uruguay lock Juan Alzueta was yellow-carded in the 55th minute but Italy couldn't take advantage.

Back with its full complement, Uruguay was consoled with a try near time by Arocena, whose conversion hit the post.

Replacement prop Matias Aguero scoring the final converted try.

Italy flies to Mendoza on Sunday to play Argentina next weekend.

Argentina have claimed back-to-back victories over Ireland following a 22-20 win in Santa Fe and 16-0 victory in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

The scorers:

For Uruguay:
Try:  Arocena

For Italy:
Tries:  Pratichetti 3, Aguero
Cons:  Burton 3
Pen:  Burton

One point takes Portugal to France

Portugal have become the last team to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.  It is their first time ever to do so but it took a thriller and in the end a single point was enough.

Uruguay who have been to the last two World Cups were their own worst enemies, paying the price for indiscipline.

Uruguay won the second leg of the World Cup qualifier in Montevideo 18-12 but Portugal had won the first leg 12-5.  They thus won overall 24-23.  By one point!  That point is enough to take the Lobos to France and means grave disappointment for the Teros who will stay at home.

In Lisbon Portugal had been leading 12-0 when Uruguay scored a last-minute try to make the score 12-5.  That meant that Portugal took a seven-point cushion to Montevideo.

On Saturday the Teros scored two tries, the Lobos none.

After just two minutes Uruguay had lock Juan Bado red-carded, sent off for foul play.  That meant that for almost all the match the Teros played with only 14 men.

Nonetheless Uruguay took the lead through penalties by Juan Menchaca and Diego Aguirre but then Portugal levelled matters with penalties by Duarte Pinto and Joao.  Then just before half time lock Marcelo Dorey was sent to the sin bin.

With Portugal down to 14 men at the start of the second half, Uruguay took an 11-6 lead with a try will Portugal scored two more penalties to lead 12-11 with 25 minutes to play -- 25 tense minutes.

The powerful Uruguayan pack mauled over the line for a try which took them to 18-12.  That gave Portugal there point overall lead but with 13 minutes to play, and that is how the score stayed as injury time dragged on and agonisingly on.

Scorers:

For Portugal:
Pens:  Duarte Pinto 4

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Crosa, Capo
Con:  Menchaca
Pens:  Menchaca, Aguirre

Teams:

Uruguay:  15 Juan Menchaca, 14 Juan Labat, 13 Diego Aguirre, 12 Joaquin Pastore, 11 Martín Crosa, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Nicolas Brignoni, 7 Nicolas Grille, 6 Alfredo Giuria, 5 Rodrigo Capo, 4 Juan Bado, 3 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Juan Andres Perez, 1 Rodrigo Sanchez
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Storace, 17 Federico Capo, 18 Carlos Arboleya, 19 Juan Miguel Alvarez, 20 Rafael Alvarez, 21 Juan Martín Llovet, 22 Nicolas Morales
Coaches:  Nicolas Inciarte, Mario Lame

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 Diogo Gama, 13 Miguel Portela, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Pedro Carvalho, 10 Duarte Pinto, 9 Luis Pissarra, 8 Vasco Uva, 7 Joao Uva, 6 Juan Serveriño, 5 Marcelo Dorey, 4 Gonzalo Uva, 3 Joaquin Ferreira, 2 Joao Correta, 1 André Lourenzo
Replacements:  16 Rui Cordeiro, 17 Duarte Figueredo, 18 David Penalva, 19 Diogo Coutinho, 20 Paulo Murinello, 21 José Pinto, 22 Goncalo Malheiro
Coach:  Tomaz Morais

Referee:  Tony Spreadbury
Touch judges:  Roy Maybank, Robin Goodliffe