World Cup Radar – URUGUAY – May 4, 2022

Uruguay are just over a month away from starting a new year of international competition. Los Teros will tour Japan in June and then play at home against Romania in July. The four test matches will provide Esteban Meneses and his coaching staff with plenty of opportunity to raise questions, analyze them and seek the answers.

It is far from clear as to who wil be playing for Uruguay at RWC 2023. With 2020 and 2021 both hit by the pandemic, there have been few opportunities for Los Teros to take-on Tier 1 opposition. Uruguay’s home match against Wales was cancelled making last November’s match away to Italy as the one fixture of the kind since RWC 2019.

Uruguay’s rugby in 2020 and 2021 has been both new and record-breaking. Los Teros out performed the USA to qualify for RWC 2023 as Americas 1. That feat saw Uruguay sealing a spot in Pool A of the tournament. What awaits the South Americans are the hosts France in addition to the team usuually ranked no 1 in the world, New Zealand. Italy and Africa (likely Namibia) are the remaining fixtures.

Getting from the qualifiers to these matches is less complex now than in past RWC cycles. With the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR), Uruguay has a professional team and players better prepared than ever. As shown below, that team is the center-piece of the projected 33-man roster to play in the World Cup in France.

 

PROJECTED FIRST XV

##

PLAYER

CLUB

POS

CAPS

 

1	Mateo Sanguinetti	Massy Essonne (FR)	LH	72
2	Germán Kessler	Provence (FR)	HK	55
3	Diego Arbelo	Peñarol	TH	17
4	Ignacio Dotti	NOLA Gold (US)	LO	54
5	Manuel Leindekar	Oyonnax (FR)	LO	23
6	Manuel Ardao	Peñarol	FL	14
7	Santiago Civetta	Peñarol	FL	16
8	Manuel Diana	Peñarol	N8	33
9	Santiago Arata	Castres (FR)	SH	45
10	Felipe Berchesi	Dax (FR)	FH	39
11	Baltazar Amaya	Peñarol	WI	1
12	Andrés Vilaseca	Peñarol	CE	66
13	Nicolás Freitas	Vannes (FR)	CE	44
14	Juan Manuel Alonso	Brive (FR)	WI	1
15	Gastón Mieres	Toronto Arrows (CA)	FB	78

Uruguay’s front-row is projected as containing the French-based Germán Kessler at hooker and Mateo Sanguinetti at loose head. Both players are well established in the team and are yet to reach 30 years of age. Diego Arbelo has come to be a regular more recently than the other two for Los Teros.

There is little debate surrounding the front-row and virtually none in regards to the second-row. Ignacio Dotti and Manuel Leindekar were the starting duo at RWC 2019 and are assured of retaining their spots in France 2023. The position is arguably where Uruguay has little cover; the other second-row options are notably shorter and lighter.

The projected back-row is now all Peñarol. This comes as a result of Manuel Diana returning to Uruguay from Major League Rugby. He joins Manuel Ardao and Santiago Civetta. Diana and Civetta both started at RWC 2019. Ardao is agurably the best forward in all of SLAR 2022. He would not be out of place in the English Premiership or French Top 14.

Santiago Arata plays in the Top 14. He will be Uruguay’s highest-profile name at RWC 2023. Tournament organizers will use him as to market Uruguay’s matches. He may be joined by Peñarol’s Felipe Etcheverry, a player who has been tremendous in SLAR 2022. Felipe Berchesi was the starting 10 at RWC 2019 and continues to be projected ahead of Etcheverry, though the gap is tightening.

Peñarol and Uruguay are both captained by Andrés Vilaseca. he will lead the South Americans in France 2023 from inside center. RWC 2019 winger Nicolás Freitas was a stand-out in SLAR 2021 where he played mostly in the centers. He has since moved north to France and has proven to be highly reliable for Vannes in the Pro D2.

With Freitas int he mid-field there is a vacancy in the back-three. Incumbent Gastón Mieres could play wing or fullback. Based on the needs of the team and SLAR tendencies, he is projected to wear 15 with Baltazar Amaya and Juan Manuel Alonso being the starting wingers.

 

PROJECTED REPLACEMENTS

16	Facundo Gattas	Old Glory DC	HK	37
17	Juan Echeverría	Peñarol	LH	59
18	Matías Benítez	Peñarol	TH	38
19	Diego Magno	Peñarol	LO	97
20	Eric Dosantos	Peñarol	FL	8
21	Agustín Ormaechea	Nice (FR)	SH	52
22	Felipe Etcheverry	Peñarol	FH	11
23	Rodrigo Silva	Peñarol	WI	69

Uruguay does not lack replacement options. Facundo Gattas and Guillermo Pujadas are neck-and-neck to be the understudy to Kessler. Prop is clear with Juan Echeverría and Matías Benítez offering Los Teros with a wealth of experience to cover both sides of the front-row.

The second-row will have a hyrid rather than a specialist replacement. The Americas mostcapped player is projected for this spot. Diego Magno comes in ahead of Franco Lamanna, though both men will also cover flanker. Eric Dosantos will also cover both. His form in the second-row for Peñarol should not be mistaken to suggest this is his test position. He will play flanker not second-row when Uruguay is at full-strength.

Veteran Agustín Ormaechea is narrowly ahead of Tomás Inciarte to be the replacement scrum-half. He and Felipe Etcheverry will give Uruguay with plenty of injection. Veteran outside back, Rodrigo Silva is projected at providing cover for the back-three from the bench.

 

PROJECTED TRAVELING REPLACEMENTS

24	Guillermo Pujadas	Peñarol	HK	18
25	Mateo Perillo	Peñarol	LH	1
26	Ignacio Peculo	Peñarol	TH	4
27	Franco Lamanna	Mogliano (IT)	LO	50
28	Lucas Bianchi	Peñarol	FL	–
29	Carlos Deus	Peñarol	N8	–
30	Tomás Inciarte	Peñarol	SH	23
31	Felipe Arcos Pérez	Peñarol	CE	5
32	Bautista Basso	Peñarol	CE	–
33	Mateo Viñals	Peñarol	WI	1

RWC 2019 rosters contained 31 players. The number for RWC 2023 is 33. This means a specialist hooker and scrum-half can be added to every roster. Uruguay’s players pick themselves in these positions, though there is competition emerging within Peñarol.

Competition can be seen in three of the projected traveling replacements. Uncapped players Lucas Bianchi, Carlos Deus and Bautista Basso are all listed above. The trio have performed well in SLAR 2022 and ought to all make their test debuts during the June 2022 tour of Japan.