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Today marks exactly years on from Uruguay’s Rugby World Cup return. Los Teros faced Wales at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on September 20 2015. It was a victory for Uruguay just being there. Having played at Rugby World Cups 1999 and 2003, Uruguay missed out on 2007 and 2011.
Uruguay’s path to Rugby World Cup 2015 was challenging. It ultimately led to a winner-takes-all repechage series against Russia which Los Teros won. With it Uruguay secured its place in the Pool of Death in England 2015.
If facing Australia, England, Fiji and Wales was not difficult enough, Uruguay had to do so by playing both England and Wales in away matches. Only Fiji would endure the same challenge during the tournament.
The extend of the task saw Uruguay investing heavily in facilities and players. With it came the Estadio Charruá’s High Performance Center, a leading facility in the Americas. Success from the investment has been seen in the Americas Rugby Championship and also from Los Teritos. Improved fitness and technique has aided the development of both teams.
Two years on from facing Wales and hindsight is 20-20. The decisions made by the URU in the lead-up to England 2015 were clever as they were enduring. The result is that today Uruguay has a stronger side and one in which Canada is not going to be taking lightly. Canada and Uruguay square-off in Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage in January and February.
For a complete match report from Wales vs Uruguay click here.
