Uruguay overcome odds to qualify for Rugby World Cup in Japan

Uruguay has qualified for the Rugby World Cup in Japan. The country has a small rugby community with just 6,000 active players. Some of them play rugby professionally, others are amateurs. They have limited time to prepare physically for a professional tournament. They also have less exposure to the level that awaits them. Wales and Australia are the favourites to win the tournament, but they have a bigger population than Uruguay. Uruguay won the first World cup and twice Olympic gold medals in football.

Uruguay's warm-ups have been good, but they haven't played a tough match. Esteban Meneses, the head coach of the national team, believes they need a match against a tier 1 nation to gauge their level. Uruguay almost never play against tier one sides. They have played 42 times against Argentina, losing every time by an average of more than 30 points. At the last World Cup in 2015, Uruguay landed in the toughest group, alongside the hosts England, Wales and eventual finalists Australia.

Uruguay beat Fiji and Georgia to qualify for Rugby World Cup in Japan. Coach Meneses expects some tighter matches against Fiji, Georgia and Australia and Wales. Berchesi is Uruguay's all-time record points scorer.