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Uruguay are celebrating another historic moment on the World Sevens Series. Los Teros finished second in Pool B to reach the Cup Quarter Finals in Cape Town. It’s the first time they have qualified for the Cup draw of the knockout stage under the modern format. They had previously reached the Top 8 on two occasions in the inaugural 1999-2000 season during which only seven teams appeared in every tournament.
Los Teros were competitive against Samoa in their first match of the day but ultimately outmatched 21-10. Their second match, however, was an outstanding performance against Dubai Finalists. Ignacio Facciolo scored two tries in two minutes to end the contest 22-19 in favor of Uruguay.
Japan were up next and the South Americans produced a scorching 33-5 victory with five different players scoring tries. It also gave them a slender advantage over Ireland in points differential, which nudged them into the Quarter Final after Uruguay, Ireland, and Samoa were left tied on competition points.
New Zealand were in no mood to play around after an earlier loss to Spain, and dispatched the Uruguayans with ease in the first round of the knockouts. Los Teros are still guaranteed to take home their highest-ever placing as they take on Fiji in the 5th Place Semi Final on Sunday.
Prior to qualifying as a Core Team for the first time this year, Uruguay had only competed in 17 individual World Series tournaments since the competition began in 1999. Their previous best-ever result under the modern format was 10th place, achieved just a week ago in Dubai. They reached the Plate Semi Finals at Punta del Este and Suva in 2000.
