Uruguay taken down to the wire by Chile in World Cup Qualifier

Uruguay were taken down to the wire by Chile in today’s Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier in Montevideo. Los Teros were given a fright by Los Cóndores. The match was won 15-10 with Chile held up in the try zone in the final minutes.

The match was South America’s pivotal fixture of the year. With Chile having beaten Brazil last weekend, today’s match clarified the RWC qualifying picture in South America. Yet, it was more than this; it was central to the greater Americas picture. The battle for Americas 2 is very alive with Canadians urged to pay close attention to Los Cóndores.

Chile went into half-time with the lead. It came as a comeback following Uruguay’s early score. Hooker Germán Kessler went over for a 6th minute try. It was the familiar lineout to maul tactic. Kessler scored his 14th test try to now be one fewer than Ireland’s Keith Wood who has the second most tries of all front-rowers following Joe Taufete’e.

Chile missed out in response. Santiago Videla’s first penalty attempt was wide. Windy conditions saw the kick sail wide. It was followed by a massive blow; flanker Ignacio Silva was stretchered off the field in the 21st minute.

Meanwhile, Uruguay were looking to attack. Forwards mixed up the play with backs. This saw Franco Lamanna floating a ball for Rodrigo Silva. It was spotted by Silva’s opposite. Rodrigo Fernández latched on to the pass to run from deep inside Chile’s half and score.

The try followed Videla opening Chile’s account. The fly half made-up for his first miss to judge the wind to perfection. Los Cóndores’ 10-7 lead underlined the progress made by Chile with Selknam and High Performance Centers.

Uruguay had taken notice of Chile. Their first opportunity for second half points saw them kicking for goal. They did so despite having won penalty five meters out from the opposition’s try zone. Felipe Berchesi landed the kick to make it a 10-10 scoreline.

It was slow going for the remainder of the third quarter. That is until the 58th minute. Uruguay replicated their opening score by repeating the tactic. Kessler again touched down in the try zone. This time, however, Berchesi was off-target with his conversion.

Aside from the lineout to maul trick, Uruguay’s forwards were being outplayed. Chile had a prime try scoring opportunity in the final ten minutes. From the base of a 5 meter scrum No8 Alfonso Escobar attacked and went over. The officials determined that he was held up over the line. Chile attacked again the scrum only to turn over the ball meters out.

South America’s RWC 2023 qualifiers conclude next weekend. Uruguay will play host to Brazil on Sunday, July 25. It will be followed by the North American qualifiers. Canada host the USA on September 04 while the USA host the reverse fixture on September 11.

Uruguay’s win means Los Teros are on target to advance. Chile’s narrow loss sees the pressure now on Brazil. Chile have five points compared to four for Uruguay and zero for Brazil. Os Tupis now require an 8 point win. A Uruguayan win will mean Uruguay and Chile advance to the next round.

 

SCORING

URUGUAY 15
Tries – G. Kessler 2 (6′, 58′)
Cons – F. Berchesi 1/2 (7′)
Pens – F. Berchesi 1/1 (44′)

CHILE 10
Tries – R. Fernández (22′)
Cons – S. Videla 1/1 (23′)
Pens – S. Videla 1/2 (18′)

 

TEAMS

URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti (17 Juan Echeverría 79′), 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Diego Arbelo, 4 Ignacio Dotti (21 Eric Dosantos 76′), 5 Manuel Leindekar, 6 Franco Lamanna (20 Manuel Diana 59′), 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Manuel Ardao (19 Juanjuan Garese 79′), 9 Agustín Ormaechea, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Rodrigo Silva

Not used: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 18 Matías Benítez, 22 Felipe Etcheverry, 23 Felipe Arcos Pérez

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco (17 Iñaki Gurruchaga 79′), 2 Augusto Böhme (16 Tomás Dussaillant 60′), 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Ignacio Silva (20 Thomas Orchard 21′), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba (21 Nicolás Herreros 62′), 10 Santiago Videla, 11 Franco Velarde, 12 Matías Garafulic (23 Iñaki Ayarza 54′), 13 Domingo Saavedra (22 José Ignacio Larenas 76′), 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Rodrigo Fernández

Not used: 18 Salvador Lues, 19 Augusto Sarmiento

 

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Gianlucca Gnacchi (Italy) & Gonzalo De Achaval (Argentina)
TMO: Marcelo Pilara (Argentina)