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Uruguay’s hopes of competing in the Bronze Final were dashed as they were defeated 26-15 by Portugal in their Round 3 match at the World Rugby u20 Trophy in Bucharest on Wednesday. The Teritos were shackled by a stingy Portuguese defense who won several turnovers in their own end and allowed only two tries while scoring four.
The game was dominated by ill-discipline with both sides guilty of running too hot. An early penalty gave José Iruleguy an easy three-pointer but at the other end João Lima was off target on two straight chances to tie. Eventually it was a try from Gabriel Pop that put them on the board, with Iruleguy binned for a dangerous tackle in the build-up.
He would redeem himself almost immediately after returning to the field, though he almost made a meal of his golden opportunity. The ball went wide and Iruleguy was put in space. With only one defender in front of him and a wide open teammate to his left, he instead opted to step the defender himself, which he managed to do to make the corner.
As the pressure increased so did the competition at the breakdown. Uruguay were too slow in support and the Portuguese defenders repeatedly won the race to the ball, but not without conceding penalties along the way. David Costa was the first to see yellow, and he would be followed by Nuno Mascarenhas and Manuel Pinto.
Despite playing a large stretch of the second half with a man advantage the Teritos could not break the line. Portugal’s scrum held strong as did their defensive line. Instead it was Jose Sarmento who burrowed over, and then two tries in rapid succession.
Alfonso Cat was binned for a dangerous tackle and Portugal attacked relentlessly until the scores came. The first was a penalty try at a scrum and the second a long breakout finished by Manuel Marta directly from the restart.
With the clock winding down Manuel Ardao broke through down the left flank to score but it would only serve to be a consolation score. Cat’s second dangerous tackle earned him another yellow, and with it red as the match reached its conclusion.
Portugal now advance to the Bronze Final where Namibia awaits on Sunday. Uruguay will consider what might have been as they prepare to face Hong Kong for 5th place.
SCORING
PORTUGAL 26
Tries – G. Pop (17’), J. Sarmento (49’), Penalty try (59’), M. Marta (60’)
Cons – J. Lima 1/2 (50’), D. Gonçalves 1/1 (61’)
Pens – J. Lima 0/2
Yellow cards – D. Costa (42’), N. Mascarenhas (66’), M. Pinto (75’)
URUGUAY 15
Tries – J. Iruleguy (29’), M. Ardao (71’)
Cons – J. Iruleguy 0/1, J. Cattivelli 1/1 (72’)
Pens – J. Iruleguy 1/1 (2’)
Yellow cards – J. Iruleguy (17’), A. Costa (57’)
Red cards – A. Costa (79’)
TEAMS
PORTUGAL
1 João Francisco Lima, 2 Nuno Mascarenhas, 3 José Pimentel, 4 Sebastião Silva, 5 Manuel Peleteiro, 6 Manuel Nunes, 7 João Vital (capt.), 8 Duarte Campos, 9 Martim Cardoso, 10 João Lima, 11 Duarte Gonçalves, 12 Gonçalo Santos, 13 Rodrigo Marta, 14 Diogo Cardoso, 15 Gabriel Pop
Replacements: 16 David Costa, 17 José Alexandre Sarmento, 18 Filipe Granja, 19 Pedro Ferreira, 20 José Roque, 21 Manuel Pinto, 22 Manuel Marta, 23 Duarte Azevedo, 24 Francisco Campos
URUGUAY
1 Nicolás Buysan, 2 Emiliano Faccennini, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 4 Maxime Sonneveld, 5 Felipe Aliaga, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Juan Garese, 8 Santiago Civetta (capt.), 9 Alfonso Cat, 10 Matías D’Avanzo, 11 Mateo Viñals, 12 Manuel Portela, 13 Valentín Grille, 14 Alfonso Costa, 15 José Iruleguy
Replacements: 16 Joaquín Jaunsolo, 17 Francisco Martirena, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Joaquín García, 20 Martín Darracq, 21 James McCubbin, 22 Juan Martín Cattivelli, 23 Baltazar Amaya, 24 César Riviere, 25 Juan Francisco Torres, 26 Juan Nicola
