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The Rugby World Cup 2023 bound Uruguay and Romania will play the first of two test matches on Saturday. They will do so at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo. The venue is the home of Uruguayan Rugby; yet, it has only previously hosted one of the ten prior test matches between the countries.
The series is the second of a two-part mid-year schedule for Los Teros. Uruguay played two test matches in Japan in June. They did so with a roster missing many regular players. The roster to face Romania is stronger, though there are still some missing names including Castres’ Santiago Arata, Bayonne’s Manuel Leindekar and some injured players such as Diego Arbelo and Manuel Diana.
Overall, the team is the strongest that Uruguay has fielded since the RWC 2023 qualifiers. Andrés Vilaseca captain’s a fully homegrown team that welcomes back Ignacio Dotti, German Kessler, and Gastón Mieres. The trio all start while Agustín Ormaechea and Felipe Berchesi are also back but will play as understudies to Tomás Inciarte and Felipe Etcheverry.
The return of the aforementioned players is highly significant. Dotti will earn his 55th cap, Kessler his 56th, Mieres his 79th, Ormaechea his 53rd, and Berchesi his 40th. Dotti will start alongside Diego Magno in the second-row. Magno will become Uruguay, and the Americas’ first player to earn 100 caps.
Romania’s line-up features Sven changes from that which faced Italy last weekend. The Oaks go in to the match with a new captain. Marius Simionescu will lead the side from fullback. He will have the support of flanker Cristi Boboc as vice-captain.
Alterations in the forwards come in the form of Alexandru Gordaș at tight head, Andrei Toader in the second-row, Cristi Boboc, Kamil Sobota and South African Johan Van Heerden in the back-row.
In the backs Vlăduț Popa and Alexandru Bucur earn starts at fly half and outside center. Bucur will play outside Hinckley Vaovasa who is preferred to fellow New Zealander Jason Tomane. Tomane has been named on the bench as has Eugen Căpățână. The hooker will earn his first cap in three years.
The match will be the first of two test matches. The winner will be well-placed to claim a series victory. In terms of the bigger picture, with both Los Teros and the Oaks confirmed for RWC 2023, the match is a vital building-block for both teams. Players are competing for places while coaches are adjusting their approaches.
TEAMS
URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 German Kessler, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Diego Magno, 6 Lucas Bianchi, 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Gastón Mieres, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Nicolás Freitas, 14 Baltazar Amaya, 15 Rodrigo Silva
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Matías Benítez, 18 Juan Echeverria, 19 Eric Dosantos, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Franco Lámannos, 22 Agustín Ormaechea, 23 Felipe Berchesi
ROMANIA
1 Vasile Balan, 2 Tudor Butnariu, 3 Alexandru Gordaș, 4 Marius Iftimiciuc, 5 Andrei Toader, 6 Johan Van Heerden, 7 Cristi Boboc, 8 Kamil Sobota, 9 Gabriel Rupanu, 10 Vlăduț Popa, 11 Adrian Apostol, 12 Hinckley Vaovasa, 13 Alexandru Bucur, 14 Mihai Lămboiu, 15 Marius Simionescu (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Eugen Căpățână, 17 Dorin Tică, 18 Gheorghe Gajion, 19 Ștefan Iancu, 20 Alexandru Alexe, 21 Alexandru Țiglă, 22 Jason Tomane, 23 Sioeli Lama
Date: Sunday, July 10
Kick-Off: 3:00pm (Montevideo)
Venue: Estadio Charrúa (Montevideo, UY)
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant Referee 1: Neheun Jauri Rivero (Argentina)
Assistant Referee 2: Tomas Bertazza (Argentina)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
HISTORIC RESULTS
2021-11-07 – Romania 29-14 Uruguay (Verona, IT)
2018-11-24 – Romania 20, Uruguay 27 (Baia Mare, RO)
2016-11-06 – Romania 36, Uruguay 10 (Bucharest, RO)
2016-06-13 – Romania 40, Uruguay 0 (Bucharest, RO)
2014-06-14 – Romania 34, Uruguay 16 (Bucharest, RO)
2012-06-08 – Romania 29, Uruguay 9 (Bucharest, RO)
2010-11-27 – Romania 39, Uruguay 12 (Bucharest, RO)
2010-11-13 – Uruguay 21, Romania 21 (Montevideo, UY)
2009-06-12 – Romania 17, Uruguay 11 (Bucharest, RO)
2008-06-11 – Romania 10, Uruguay 6 (Bucharest, RO)
