Uruguay – New Test Players since RWC 2019

There have been changes in Los Teros since Rugby World Cup 2019. The arrival of a professional team has matured the player roster. The gap from the club system to the test arena has been drastically reduced. Super Rugby 2023 will ensure that the Rugby World Cup 2023 roster is Uruguay’s best prepared group of players in history.

A change at the top since RWC 2019 saw center Andrés Vilaseca replacing flanker Juan Manuel Gaminara as captain. Eight other players from that tournament are no longer involved. They are props Joaquín Jaunsolo, Juan Rombys, flanker Juan Diego Ormaechea, N8 Alejandro Nieto, centers Juan Manuel Cat and Agustín Della Corte and wingers Federico Favaro and Leandro Leivas.

Click here to access Uruguay’s complete player pool.

 

Limited international competition in 2020 brought with it few opportunities for new test caps. Nonetheless, Uruguay’s series against Spain was highly productive. The November series followed uncapped activity with Uruguay playing as the Uruguay XV in the 2020 South American Championship.

Props Ignacio Péculo and Mateo Perillo made their debuts as did second-rowers Felipe Aliaga and Juanjuan Garese and flanker Eric Dosantos. Scrum-half Ignacio Rodríguez was a rookie replacement and fullback José Iruleguy also debuted as a replacement against Los Leones.

Rather than playing host to a home series in the 2021 July Internationals, Uruguay competed in Rugby World Cup Qualifiers. The match against Brazil saw center Felipe Arcos Pérez making his test debut for Los Teros. He started outside captain Andrés Vilaseca in the mid-field.

Additional Peñarol players debuted in November. Winger Mateo Viñals and center Juan Manuel Alonso earned their first caps for Uruguay’s away test match against Italy. Winger Baltazar Amaya debuted in November against Romania while scrum-half Juan Manuel Tafernaberry was an unused replacement in the match and remains uncapped.

Many players earned their first test cap for Uruguay in mid-2022. The tour to Japan saw debuts for hooker Emiliano Faccennini, prop Mathías Franco, second-rower Tomás Etcheverry, flanker Lucas Bianchi, N8 Carlos Deus, scrum-half Santiago Álvarez, and center Bautista Basso.

2022 concluded with three test matches in Eastern Europe. The first saw fly half Juan Zuccarino making his test debut as a replacement against Georgia. The final match of the year saw another player debuting; tight head prop Reinaldo Piussi debuted as a replacement against Tonga. Both Zuccarino and Piussi are rookies for Peñarol. The former played for Selknam in the 2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR).

 

URUGUAY – NEW TEST PLAYERS SINCE RWC 2019

LOOSE HEAD
Mateo Perillo (2020)

HOOKER
Emiliano Faccennini (2022)

TIGHT HEAD
Mathías Franco (2022)
Ignacio Péculo (2020)
Reinaldo Piussi (2022)

SECOND-ROW
Felipe Aliaga (2020)
Tomás Etcheverry (2022)
Juanjuan Garese (2020)

BACK-ROW
Lucas Bianchi (2022)
Carlos Deus (2022)
Eric Dosantos (2020)

SCRUM HALF
Santiago Álvarez (2022)
Ignacio Rodríguez (2020)

FLY HALF
Juan Zuccarino (2022)

CENTER
Juan Manuel Alonso (2021)
Felipe Arcos Pérez (2021)
Bautista Basso (2022)

WING
Baltazar Amaya (2021)
Mateo Viñals (2021)

FULLBACK
José Iruleguy (2020)