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The era of professional rugby has begun in Uruguay writes Ignacio Chans. A revolutionary new age of rugby in the South American country is here. Some 15 Teros players have now been training on a full-time basis at the High Performance Center in the Estadio Charrúa for the past two weeks.
In what is the first step in preparation for the 2019 World Cup, Uruguay’s players are to now be afforded comparable opportunities to their neighbors across the Río de la Plata. These same players are to form the basis of Uruguay’s professional rugby teams.
The creation of two teams is underway for Uruguay to compete in the new South American Professional Rugby competition. Montevideo soccer clubs Nacional and Peñarol are to be the franchises for the Uruguayan teams. They will join six others from South America with Argentina, Brazil, and Chile all set to be involved.
All 15 players will sign contracts with the URU in the coming days. The contracts are to pay the costs of university for those studying and will act as compensation for work for those who train full-time, thereby leaving their professions.
In the months leading up to RWC 2015 there was a similar initiative. It enabled players to be far better prepared than were Uruguay’s athletes for RWCs 1999 and 2003. Indeed Uruguay was notably more competitive against England in 2015 than in 2003.
Yet there is a significant point in difference between the 2015 semi-professional contracts and those of today. The contracts in 2018 are designed for the players to commit less hours to their careers and more to rugby. The aspect of having adequate downtime between work and rugby has been factored in.
The players are to have annual contracts with the URU. This is to allow for changes at the end of the year to add new or remove names. The URU is intending to have a complete 31-man roster of professionals for RWC 2019. The 15 players who are to be contracted are as follows:
| PLAYER | POS | CAPS | CLUB |
| Mateo Sanguinetti | LH | 50 | Los Cuervos |
| Germán Kessler | HO | 37 | Los Cuervos |
| Juan Echeverría | TH | 39 | Old Christians |
| Ignacio Dotti | LO | 35 | Los Cuervos |
| Diego Magno | LO | 82 | MVCC |
| Juan Manuel Gaminara | FL | 54 | Old Boys |
| Alejandro Nieto | N8 | 59 | Champagnat |
| Santiago Arata | SH | 27 | Old Christians |
| Juan Manuel Cat | CE | 20 | Old Boys |
| Joaquín Prada | CE | 42 | Los Cuervos |
| Andrés Vilaseca | CE | 42 | Old Boys |
| Nicolás Freitas | WI | 23 | Carrasco Polo |
| Leandro Leivas | WI | 68 | Old Christians |
| Gastón Mieres | FB | 59 | Lobos |
| Rodrigo Silva | FB | 49 | Carrasco Polo |
Notably absent is Mario Sagario. The former French and Irish based tighthead prop is unable to commit due to his work and study commitments. Like others missing out he will continue to be involved for his country but will do so without a professional contract.
The first assignment for the players is to be the upcoming Sudamérica 6 Naciones ‘A’. The competition replaces the former South American ‘A’ Championship with Colombia and Paraguay now to be involved. Uruguay, though, will be playing as the Uruguay XV rather than the official test team.
