Uruguay name Preliminary RWC 2019 Roster

Uruguay has named a preliminary RWC 2019 roster. Containing 34 players, it is to be reduced to 31 for this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Not included is Uruguay’s most well-known player, Rodrigo Capó Ortega. The two-time French Top 14 champion has pulled out of competing at RWC 2019 on the grounds that he will not be 100% fit to participate in the pre-tournament training.

Also not shortlisted is RWC 2015 starting center Joaquín Prada. He was unable to gain clearance for release from his medical studies for sufficient time to prepare for the World Cup and also to play in it.

In all positions there are a minimum of two specialists selected though there is a heavy cross-over of utility players in the backs. Tomás Inciarte has been selected as both a scrum half and center; Juan Manuel Cat as a fly half and center; while Felipe Echeverry, Gastón Mieres, Rodrigo Silva have all been named as wingers and fullbacks.

Of the 34 players 12 are returnees from RWC 2015. They are Felipe Berchesi, Juan M Gaminara, Germán Kessler, Franco Lamana, Leandro Leivas, Diego Magno, Gastón Mieres, Alejandro Nieto, Agustín Ormeachea, Mateo Sanguinetti, Rodrigo Silva, and Andrés Vilaseca.

Of note is that for RWC 2015 26 of the 31 players were based in Uruguay. By way of comparison the preliminary roster for RWC 2019 features 15 men who play their rugby abroad.

The 34-man roster will begin the final preparations for RWC 2019 on Monday at the High Performance Center of Montevideo’s Estadio Charrúa. The regime will begin with physical preparations and is to be followed by three warm-up matches.

Los Teros will subsequently confirm their final roster of 31 players and depart for Japan on September 12.

The team will be in the Asian country for one month playing their first match against Fiji in Kamaishi on Wednesday September 25; game two will be on Sunday September 29 against Georgia in Kumagaya; game three will be against Australia on October 05 in Oita; while game four will be against Wales in Kumamoto on Sunday October 13.

The complete preliminary roster for Rugby World Cup 2019 is listed below. Players are attached to their clubs as provided by the URU.