Uruguay’s World Cup preparations have been given a scare. Star scrum-half is out of the Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. He fractured a finger in training and will undergo surgery today.
Rugby World Cup 2023 starts in one month and fourteen days time. Arata will be unavailable for Uruguay’s three warm-up matches. Los Teros take-on Chile this coming Saturday at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo.
Arata will miss the match against Chile and subsequent home games against Namibia on August 05 and the Argentina XV on August 19. Uruguay’s late start to the World Cup will give the player more time to be 100% ready.
It is certain that Arata will be Uruguay’s starting scrum-half at the World Cup. Uruguay will play in Pool A. Their first match will be against France on September 14 in Lille. Uruguay then face Italy in Nice six days later. Uruguay’s third and fourth matches will be in Lyon on September 27 and October 05 against Namibia and New Zealand respectively.
Arata is one of four scrum-halves on Uruguay’s Rugby World Cup training roster. The others are Santiago Álvarez (Peñarol), Agustín Ormaechea (Nice, FR) and Juan Manuel Tafernaberry (Peñarol). Álvarez had an outstanding Super Rugby Americas 2023 season while Juan Manuel Tafernaberry watched-on injured. Ormaechea is a veteran of Rugby World Cups 2015 and 2019.
WORLD CUP WARM UP – URUGUAY
July 29 vs (Montevideo, UY)
August 05 vs (Montevideo, UY)
August 19 vs (Montevideo, UY)
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023 – URUGUAY
September 14 vs (Lille, FR)
September 20 vs (Nice, FR)
September 27 vs (Lyon, FR)
October 05 vs (Lyon, FR)