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The first ever test match between Germany and Uruguay took place this weekend. The Central Europeans had home advantage in what was a great unknown. World Rankings and reputation were both in Uruguay’s favor. Los Teros entered that match on the back of appearing in Rugby World Cup 2015. They were ranked 19th with Germany 26th.
The regional orders of European and South American rugby place the teams in differing standings. Germany plays in the European Nations Cup while Uruguay does so in the Americas Rugby Championship. Of the two the latter is new having only started this year.
Germany’s experience against Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Spain has aided their progression. The extent of this may now begin to become clear. Uruguay were hot favorites. The experts at Americas Rugby News and other outlets from the region all agreed that Los Teros would win.
The loss was, indeed, a shock. It came at a time when Uruguay is earning praise from World Rugby authorities for their progress. Uruguay has invested heavily in a successful High Performance Center. This has players better prepared and more to choose from for international duty.
Head Coach Esteban Meneses looked to some of the developing talent this weekend. He opted against fielding his strongest possible side. Among the missing players were the highly regarding pairing of Agustín Ormaechea and Mario Sagario.
In losing the match Uruguay are now to fall to 20th in the World Rankings. They will be overtaken by Namibia. Germany will rise to 24th, the magic number to those pushing for Rugby World Cup expansion to a 24-team format.
For a complete match report click here.
