Uruguay national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The Uruguay national rugby union team is the representative side of Uruguay, governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay
. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup
, in 1999 and 2003. Uruguay won the South American Rugby Championship
in 1981, the only time that a team other than Argentina won it. They came second on 19 occasions and third the remaining 9. Uruguay as of yet, have never beaten Argentina in an official match between the two nations.
, which Uruguay lost 21-3. Following their debut match, they return to competition in
e Pan American Games
, first against the more experienced Argentina
, resulting in a 0-62 loss. Uruguay then faced Chile for the second time, defeating them by 8-3. The final match of the competition was a 17-10 win over Brazil
. Uruguay thus became runners up in the first unofficial South American Rugby Championship
.
Uruguay, after a four years hiatus, played Chile in 1956, who defeated them by 6-3. In 1958, they played for the first official South American Rugby Championship, in a pool of three countries. They first played Chile, this time losing by 9-34. The "Teros" met again Argentina, having another loss, this time by 3-50. Uruguay managed to defeat Peru
(10-6) in the last game.
In 1960, Uruguay faced for the first time one of the powers of the Northern Hemysphere rugby, France XV
, losing by 0-59, in Montevideo
. Uruguay after this match entered their second South American Rugby Championship. They first won Brazil in a close game (11-8), losing then to Chile (5-28) and Argentina (3-36), in the closest result to then between both countries.
in 1971, which was followed by a win and loss against Chile and a win against Brazil. They also played Argentina twice in the 1970s. However, they won all their matches except for those against Argentina, as well as losing one game against Chile and drawing another. However, the next game against Argentina, two years later in 1979, Uruguay came close to defeating the Pumas, going down by just three points, the final score being 19 to 16.
The 1980s started off with a 54 to 14 win over Paraguay
, which resulted in a winning streak that was stopped by Argentina in 1983. Another short undefeated streak occurred over 1987/1989, which was broken by a 19 to 17 loss against Chile. This was followed by a sound loss to Argentina and loss to a new opponent, the United States
Eagles.
in a competitive 28 to 9 loss in 1995. Uruguay played some of the bigger nations such as Argentina, Canada and the United States, although the Canada and U.S. games were a lot closer than some of their previous encounters. A huge success for them was qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup
in Wales
. They won their pool fixture against Spain, Uruguay finished third in their pool.
Uruguay came within 10 points of Argentina in 2001, and also played nations such as Italy in the same year. Uruguay won most of their matches against their traditional Americas opponents in the early 2000s. Later in 2002, Uruguay defeated Canada, winning 25 to 23. They followed this up with a 10 to nine win over the United States. They again qualified for the World Cup. They won their pool fixture against Georgia
24 to 12.
Uruguay's qualification for the 2007 World Cup
started in Americas Round 3a, where they were grouped with Argentina and Chile. After losing their first match 26 points to nil to Argentina, they defeated Chile 43 to 15 in Montevideo
, which saw them enter Round 4, where they faced the USA
. Uruguay lost on aggregate, and moved onto the repechage round
as Americas 4. They played Portugal
over two legs - losing the first in Lisbon
and winning the second in Montevideo. Portugal qualified on aggregate points.
Uruguay lost the 2011 Rugby World Cup
qualification.
.
Unión de Rugby del Uruguay
The Uruguayan Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Uruguay.-Foundation and affiliation:It was founded in 1951 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1989.They have been represented in the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups....
. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, in 1999 and 2003. Uruguay won the South American Rugby Championship
South American Rugby Championship
The South American Rugby Championship is a two-tiered, annual rugby union competition that features teams from South America. The tournament began in 1951 and was hosted by Uruguay, and was won by Argentina...
in 1981, the only time that a team other than Argentina won it. They came second on 19 occasions and third the remaining 9. Uruguay as of yet, have never beaten Argentina in an official match between the two nations.
1940s - 1960s
Uruguay made their official international debut in 1948, in a game against ChileChile national rugby union team
The Chile national rugby union team is a rugby union nation representing Chile. They first played in 1935 and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Chile is administered by the Federación de Rugby de Chile...
, which Uruguay lost 21-3. Following their debut match, they return to competition in
e Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
, first against the more experienced Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
, resulting in a 0-62 loss. Uruguay then faced Chile for the second time, defeating them by 8-3. The final match of the competition was a 17-10 win over Brazil
Brazil national rugby union team
The Brazil national rugby union team is the national side of Brazil, representing them at rugby union. Brazil is a third tier rugby union side, and have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union has been growing substantially in Brazil since 2005 and the number of players is...
. Uruguay thus became runners up in the first unofficial South American Rugby Championship
South American Rugby Championship
The South American Rugby Championship is a two-tiered, annual rugby union competition that features teams from South America. The tournament began in 1951 and was hosted by Uruguay, and was won by Argentina...
.
Uruguay, after a four years hiatus, played Chile in 1956, who defeated them by 6-3. In 1958, they played for the first official South American Rugby Championship, in a pool of three countries. They first played Chile, this time losing by 9-34. The "Teros" met again Argentina, having another loss, this time by 3-50. Uruguay managed to defeat Peru
Peru national rugby union team
The Peru national rugby team, nicknamed los Tumis, is an emerging team in the Americas and a member of the Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby ....
(10-6) in the last game.
In 1960, Uruguay faced for the first time one of the powers of the Northern Hemysphere rugby, France XV
France A national rugby union team
The France A national rugby union team, known previously as France XV national rugby union team and France B national rugby union team, are the second national rugby union team behind the French national side.-History:...
, losing by 0-59, in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. Uruguay after this match entered their second South American Rugby Championship. They first won Brazil in a close game (11-8), losing then to Chile (5-28) and Argentina (3-36), in the closest result to then between both countries.
1970s - 1980s
The 1970s started off with a win over ParaguayParaguay national rugby union team
The Paraguay national rugby team is the team governed by the Paraguayan Rugby Union that represents Paraguay in the international rugby competitions organized by the International Rugby Board....
in 1971, which was followed by a win and loss against Chile and a win against Brazil. They also played Argentina twice in the 1970s. However, they won all their matches except for those against Argentina, as well as losing one game against Chile and drawing another. However, the next game against Argentina, two years later in 1979, Uruguay came close to defeating the Pumas, going down by just three points, the final score being 19 to 16.
The 1980s started off with a 54 to 14 win over Paraguay
Paraguay national rugby union team
The Paraguay national rugby team is the team governed by the Paraguayan Rugby Union that represents Paraguay in the international rugby competitions organized by the International Rugby Board....
, which resulted in a winning streak that was stopped by Argentina in 1983. Another short undefeated streak occurred over 1987/1989, which was broken by a 19 to 17 loss against Chile. This was followed by a sound loss to Argentina and loss to a new opponent, the United States
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
Eagles.
1990s-present
The 1990s started off with wins against of Chile, Brazil and Paraguay. This was followed by more wins over their traditional opponents, though Uruguay still lost to Argentina, they also played CanadaCanada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
in a competitive 28 to 9 loss in 1995. Uruguay played some of the bigger nations such as Argentina, Canada and the United States, although the Canada and U.S. games were a lot closer than some of their previous encounters. A huge success for them was qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. They won their pool fixture against Spain, Uruguay finished third in their pool.
Uruguay came within 10 points of Argentina in 2001, and also played nations such as Italy in the same year. Uruguay won most of their matches against their traditional Americas opponents in the early 2000s. Later in 2002, Uruguay defeated Canada, winning 25 to 23. They followed this up with a 10 to nine win over the United States. They again qualified for the World Cup. They won their pool fixture against Georgia
Georgia national rugby union team
The Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
24 to 12.
Uruguay's qualification for the 2007 World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
started in Americas Round 3a, where they were grouped with Argentina and Chile. After losing their first match 26 points to nil to Argentina, they defeated Chile 43 to 15 in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, which saw them enter Round 4, where they faced the USA
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
. Uruguay lost on aggregate, and moved onto the repechage round
2007 Rugby World Cup - Repechage qualification
During the 2007 Rugby World Cup qualification, there were two repechage positions available for the finals tournament.-Repechage 1:Portugal win 26-20 on aggregate and advances to Round 2....
as Americas 4. They played Portugal
Portugal national rugby union team
The Portugal national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side representing Portugal. They first played in 1935 and now compete in the European Nations Cup. Rugby union in Portugal is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby. Portugal qualified for their first Rugby World Cup in...
over two legs - losing the first in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and winning the second in Montevideo. Portugal qualified on aggregate points.
Uruguay lost the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
qualification.
World Cup record
- 1987 - Did not enter.
- 1991 - Did not enter
- 1995 - Did not qualify.
- 1999 - Qualified, one win. Third in pool. (Out of 4)
- 2003 - Qualified, one win. Fourth in pool. (Out of 5)
- 2007 - Did not qualify.
- 2011 - Did not qualify.
Current squad
Uruguay squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final Place Play-off with RomaniaRomania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
.
| tyle="color:white;">Player | Position | Club |
| Francisco Vecino | Scrum-half |  Carrasco Polo |
| Manuel Martìnez Manuel Martínez Manuel "Manolo" Martínez Gutiérrez is a retired Spanish shot putter. Nicknamed the "Gentle Giant", his personal best throw outdoors is 21.47 metres and he has an indoor best of 21.26 m. These marks are the Spanish national records for the event... |
Scrum-half | Old Christian's |
| Matias Arocena | Fly-half | Old Christian's |
| Felipe Berchesi | Fly-half | Carrasco Polo |
| Agustín Ormaechea | Centre | Carrasco Polo |
| Juan de Freitas | Centre | Champagnat |
| Leandro Leivas | Wing | Old Christian's |
| Gaston Mieres | Wing | Lobos |
| Santiago Gibernau | Fullback |  Cajasol Ciencias |
| Jeronimo Etcheverry | Fullback |  Verona |
| tyle="color:white;">Player | Position | Club |
| Nicolás Klappenbach (c) Captain (sports) In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field... |
Hooker | Champagnat |
| Martín Espiga | Hooker | Old Christian's |
| Alejo Corral Alejo Corral Alejo Corral is a rugby player, born in Argentina but he plays for Uruguay. Younger brother of Matías Corral, World Champion with the Argentine National Team under-19 in 1987, former player of the first XV of San Isidro Club between 1989 and 1995 and Puma from 1992 until his retirement after the... |
Prop |  San Isidro ClubSan Isidro Club The San Isidro Club is a rugby union and field hockey club sited in Boulogne Sur Mer, Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. The club is also member of the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires .-The beginning:... |
| Francisco Jiménez Francisco Jiménez Francisco Jiménez was a colonial Nahua noble from Tecamachalco. He served as judge-governor of Tenochtitlan for a year and five months in 1568 and 1569, and was the first outsider to govern Tenochtitlan.... |
Prop | Champagnat |
| Juan Pedro Rombys | Prop | Trébol |
| Mario Sagario | Prop | UE Santboiana |
| Juan Ignacio Tabarez | Lock | Belgrano Athletic |
| Rodrigo Capo Ortega Rodrigo Capo Ortega Rodrigo Capo Ortega is a Uruguayan rugby union player.-Biography:Capo Ortega was born in Montevideo.He plays in Europe for Castres Olympique, a French team, who he joined in 2002.... |
Lock |  Castres Olympique |
| Diego Magno | Lock | MVCC |
| Mathias Braun | Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
PSG |
| Rodrigo Espiga | Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
Old Christian´s |
| Juan Ormaechea | Number eight | Carrasco Polo |
| Santiago Vilaseca | Number eight | Old Boys |
Notable former players
- Diego Aguirre
- Rodrigo Capo OrtegaRodrigo Capo OrtegaRodrigo Capo Ortega is a Uruguayan rugby union player.-Biography:Capo Ortega was born in Montevideo.He plays in Europe for Castres Olympique, a French team, who he joined in 2002....
- Alfonso CardosoAlfonso CardosoAlfonso Cardoso was a Uruguayan rugby union player.-Career:Cardoso field position was a fullback. He played at Old Boys in 2003. He played twice at the Rugby World Cup finals, in 1999 and 2003...
- Alejo CorralAlejo CorralAlejo Corral is a rugby player, born in Argentina but he plays for Uruguay. Younger brother of Matías Corral, World Champion with the Argentine National Team under-19 in 1987, former player of the first XV of San Isidro Club between 1989 and 1995 and Puma from 1992 until his retirement after the...
- Diego LamelasDiego LamelasDiego Lamelas is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He plays as a hooker.Lamelas was a member of Argentinian team of Alumni Athletic Club. He is a senior Uruguayan rugby union player and a regular member of Uruguay national rugby union team. He played twice at the Rugby World Cup finals, in 1999 and...
- Juan MenchacaJuan MenchacaJuan Ramón Menchaca is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He plays as a fullback or as a wing. He's currently a member of Carrasco Polo Club squad....
- Diego OrmaecheaDiego OrmaecheaDiego Ormaechea is a former Uruguayan rugby union player and a current coach. He played as a number eight. His profession is Veterinary Surgeon specialised in Racing Horses. He is one of the top veterinary surgeons in South America in his discipline.Ormaechea is considered the greatest Uruguayan...
- Pablo LemoinePablo LemoinePablo Adrian Lemoine is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He plays as a prop.-Career:Lemoine was first noticed in is own country, but then moved to Bristol Shoguns, for the season of 1998/99, where he became a professional. He moved again to Stade français, which side he represented for the seasons...
External links
- Unión de Rugby del Uruguay - Official Site
- Uruguay - Rugbydata.com
- http://www.rugbyinternational.net/countries/uruguay.htm - Uruguay Official Matches