Uruguay national rugby union team
The Uruguay national rugby union team (Spanish: Selección de rugby de Uruguay) represents Uruguay in men's international rugby union nicknamed Los Teros, is governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. One of the older test sides in the world, Uruguay has qualified five times for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019 and most recently 2023. As of 10 June 2019 they are ranked 17th in the world, and are ranked 3rd in the Americas region, behind rivals Argentina and the United States.
| Nickname(s) | Los Teros |
|---|---|
| Emblem | Southern lapwing |
| Union | Uruguayan Rugby Union |
| Head coach | Esteban Meneses |
| Captain | Andrés Vilaseca |
| Most caps | Diego Magno (103) |
| Top scorer | Felipe Berchesi (369) |
| Top try scorer | Diego Ormaechea (33) |
| Home stadium | Estadio Charrúa |
| World Rugby ranking | |
| Current | 18 (as of 2 July 2022) |
| Highest | 14 (2005) |
| Lowest | 23 (2012, 2013, 2017) |
| First international | |
| Chile 21–3 Uruguay (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 August 1948) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Paraguay 6–102 Uruguay (Puerto Iguazú, Argentina; 14 May 2011) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| South Africa 134–3 Uruguay (East London, South Africa; 11 June 2005) | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1999) |
| Best result | Pool stage (1999, 2003, 2015, 2019) |
| Website | uru.org.uy |
Uruguay has consistently been one of the better fringe international sides in rugby union, having consistently beaten Tier 2/3 competition from across the globe. Uruguay won the South American Rugby Championship in 1981, the only time (pre-2014) that a team other than Argentina won the tournament. They came second on 19 occasions and third the remaining 9. As of 2012, Uruguay has been classified as a Tier 2 nation, which allows them to receive more funding from World Rugby.
Their home stadium is Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo and holds up to 14,000 people. Estadio Domingo Burgueño has also been used for some fixtures in the Americas Rugby Championship.
The nickname Los Teros refers to the national bird of Uruguay, the southern lapwing.
History
1900s – 1960s
Rugby union has been played on Uruguayan soil as possibly as early as the 19th century, with reports of rugby football being played as early as 1865,[1] though the origins of rugby in Uruguay remain controversial. Regardless of whom played the first rugby match in Uruguay, it is clear that rugby was introduced in Uruguay by British immigrants in the 19th century, with the game being more popularized by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, who were of Irish origin. Because of this, Uruguay has one of the oldest rugby cultures outside the British Isles, and one of the most established in the South America.
Uruguay made their official international debut in 1948, in a game against Chile, which Uruguay lost 21–3. Following their debut match, they returned to competition in the Pan American Games, first against the more experienced Argentina, resulting in a 0–62 loss. Uruguay then faced Chile for the second time, defeating them by 8–3. The final match of the competition was a 17–10 win over Brazil. Uruguay thus became runners up in the first unofficial South American Rugby Championship.
Uruguay, after a four years hiatus, played Chile in 1956, who defeated them by 6–3. In 1958, they played for the first official South American Rugby Championship, in a pool of three countries. They first played Chile, this time losing by 9–34. The Teros met again Argentina, having another loss, this time by 3–50. Uruguay managed to defeat Peru (10–6) in the last game.
In 1960, Uruguay faced for the first time one of the powers of the Northern Hemisphere rugby, France XV, losing by 0–61 in Montevideo during a South American tour. Uruguay after this match entered their second South American Rugby Championship. They first won against Brazil in a close game (11–8), then losing to Chile (5–28) and Argentina (3–36) in the closest result to then between both countries.
1970s – 1980s
The 1970s started off with a win over Paraguay in 1971, which was followed by a win and loss against Chile and a win against Brazil. They also played Argentina twice in the 1970s. However, they won all their matches except for those against Argentina, as well as losing one game against Chile and drawing another. However, the next game against Argentina, two years later in 1979, Uruguay came close to defeating the Pumas, going down by just three points, the final score being 19 to 16.
The 1980s started off with a 54 to 14 win over Paraguay, which resulted in a winning streak that was stopped by Argentina in 1983. In 1985, France visited Montevideo for a second time to play the Teros, beating the locals 34–6. Another short undefeated streak occurred over 1987/1989, which was broken by a 19 to 17 loss against Chile. This was followed by a sound loss to Argentina and loss to a new opponent, the United States Eagles.
1990s
The 1990s started off with wins against of Chile, Brazil and Paraguay. This was followed by more wins over their traditional opponents, though Uruguay still lost to Argentina, they also played Canada in a competitive 28–9 loss in 1995. Uruguay played some of the bigger nations such as Argentina, Canada and the United States, although the Canada and U.S. games were a lot closer than some of their previous encounters.
A huge success for them was qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. They won their pool fixture against Spain, Uruguay finished third in their pool.
2000–present
Uruguay came within 10 points of Argentina in 2001, and also played nations such as Italy in the same year. Uruguay won most of their matches against their traditional Americas opponents in the early 2000s. Later in 2002, Uruguay defeated Canada, winning 25–23. They followed this up with a 10–9 win over the United States. They again qualified for the 2003 World Cup. They won their pool fixture against Georgia 24–12.
Uruguay's qualification for the 2007 World Cup started in Americas Round 3a, where they were grouped with Argentina and Chile. After losing their first match 26–0 to Argentina, they defeated Chile 43–15 in Montevideo, which saw them enter Round 4. In round 4 they faced the United States, and Uruguay lost on aggregate, and moved onto the repechage round as Americas 4. Uruguay played Portugal in the repechage over two legs — losing the first in Lisbon and winning the second in Montevideo — but lost on aggregate points and failed to qualify.
Uruguay lost the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualification. Uruguay had won the 2009 South American Rugby Championship "A" by defeating Brazil and Chile at the Estadio Charrúa. Uruguay then lost to the United States 22–27 and 6–27. In the repechage, Uruguay defeated Kazakhstan 44–7, but in the battle for the 20th and final spot at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Uruguay tied Romania at home 21–21 and lost 12–32 in Bucharest.
During the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Uruguay won the 2013 South American Rugby Championship "A", getting wins at the Estadio Charrúa against Brazil (58–7) and Chile (23–9). In March 2014, Uruguay faced the United States in a NACRA-CONSUR playoff for the last Americas qualification spot. Uruguay tied the home leg 27–27, but lost the away leg 32–13. Uruguay then moved to the repechage, where it defeated Hong Kong 28–3 at the Estadio Charrúa, to face Russia for the 20th and final spot at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Uruguay qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup by defeating Russia by an aggregate score of 57–49 in the two-game series, winning the second game at home 36–27 in front of 14,000 fans at the Charrua Stadium.[2]
Uruguay claimed three wins and two losses at the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship, but ranked fourth out of six because they only scored two bonus points. In 2017 the team also claimed three wins and two losses, finishing third. On 3 February 2018, Los Teros qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup as Americas 2 after beating Canada in the home-away leg, and started it with a surprising 30-27 win over Fiji on 25 September, it was Uruguay’s first World Cup win in 16 years.[3][4]
On 30 October 2019, nightclub in southwestern Japan filed criminal complaint against players from the Uruguay team for 2019 Rugby World Cup for allegedly damaging property.[5]
In 2021, Uruguay qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1, after a 1-1 series draw with the United States They lost the first game 19-16, but won the second game 34-15. They won on aggregate points (50-34) and are in Pool A with New Zealand, France, Italy and Africa 1.
Record
Overall record
17 (2 January 2023)[6] Uruguay has lost all official matches versus Argentina, but has a winning record versus their other South American rivals such as Chile, Paraguay and Brazil.
Regarding tier 2 teams, Uruguay has positive records with Namibia, Spain, Portugal and Russia, and negative records with United States, Canada, Japan, Georgia, Romania and Fiji.
Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Uruguay national XV at test level up until 17 July 2022.[7]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 42 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0.00% | 434 | 1744 | −1310 |
| Argentina XV | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 30.77% | 251 | 463 | −212 |
| Argentina Jaguars | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 40 | 101 | −61 |
| Australia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 110 | −97 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 39 | 13 | +26 |
| Brazil | 31 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 90.32% | 1060 | 328 | +732 |
| Canada | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 33.33% | 232 | 370 | −141 |
| Chile | 53 | 40 | 12 | 1 | 75.47% | 1279 | 814 | +465 |
| Emerging Ireland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 43 | 126 | −83 |
| England | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 16 | 171 | −155 |
| Fiji | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00% | 76 | 181 | −105 |
| Fiji XV | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 24 | −21 |
| Fiji Warriors | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% | 73 | 82 | −9 |
| France XV | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 16 | 136 | −120 |
| Georgia | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.3% | 86 | 141 | −55 |
| Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 21 | 24 | −3 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 28 | 3 | +25 |
| Italy | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00% | 35 | 109 | −75 |
| Emerging Italy | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50.00% | 90 | 89 | +1 |
| Italy A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 13 | 31 | –18 |
| Japan | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20.00% | 54 | 165 | −111 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 44 | 7 | +37 |
| Morocco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | 36 | 24 | +12 |
| Namibia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00% | 142 | 112 | +30 |
| New Zealand XV | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 64 | −61 |
| Paraguay | 26 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 96.15% | 1322 | 238 | +1084 |
| Peru | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 10 | 6 | +4 |
| Portugal | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.00% | 234 | 142 | +92 |
| Romania | 11 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9.09% | 121 | 285 | −164 |
| Russia | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 55.55% | 231 | 215 | +16 |
| Samoa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 60 | −47 |
| Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 12 | 43 | −31 |
| Scotland A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 27 | −24 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 12 | 245 | −233 |
| South Africa President's XV | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 9 | 37 | −28 |
| Spain | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 53.85% | 250 | 198 | +34 |
| United States | 20 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 20% | 361 | 612 | −251 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 92 | 8 | +84 |
| Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 22 | 89 | −67 |
| Total | 299 | 142 | 153 | 4 | 47.49% | 6793 | 7565 | −800 |
World Cup record
| World Cup record | World Cup Qualification record | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Finished | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Pts F | Pts A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| 1987 | Not invited | — | ||||||||||||
| 1991 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||
| 1995 | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 28 | |||||||
| 1999 | Pool Stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 97 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 209 | 188 | |
| 2003 | Pool Stage | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 255 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 115 | 144 | |
| 2007 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 86 | 140 | |||||||
| 2011 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 194 | 107 | ||||||||
| 2015 | Pool Stage | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 226 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 239 | 146 | |
| 2019 | Pool Stage | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 140 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 318 | 160 | |
| 2023 | Qualified | TBD | ||||||||||||
| Total | 4/7 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 188 | 718 | 46 | 30 | 2 | 14 | 1252 | 913 | |
Current squad
On 25 October, Uruguay named a 30-man traveling squad for their European tour matches against Georgia, Romania and Tonga.[8]
Head Coach: Esteban Meneses
- Caps Updated: 19 November 2022
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facundo Gattas | Hooker | 2 July 1995 | 38 | Old Glory DC |
| Germán Kessler | Hooker | 1 July 1994 | 59 | Provence |
| Guillermo Pujadas | Hooker | 6 February 1997 | 25 | Peñarol |
| Matías Benítez | Prop | 16 May 1988 | 43 | Peñarol |
| Juan Echeverría | Prop | 9 October 1991 | 64 | Peñarol |
| Matías Franco | Prop | 5 March 1996 | 4 | Peñarol |
| Ignacio Péculo | Prop | 22 February 1999 | 11 | Peñarol |
| Reinaldo Piussi | Prop | 18 May 1999 | 1 | Carrasco Polo Club |
| Mateo Sanguinetti | Prop | 26 July 1992 | 77 | Los Cuervos |
| Felipe Aliaga | Lock | 14 September 1999 | 4 | Peñarol |
| Ignacio Dotti | Lock | 18 August 1994 | 58 | New Orleans Gold |
| Manuel Leindekar | Lock | 23 April 1997 | 25 | Bayonne |
| Diego Magno | Lock | 27 April 1989 | 103 | Peñarol |
| Manuel Ardao | Back row | 9 September 1998 | 20 | Peñarol |
| Lucas Bianchi | Back row | 26 March 2001 | 6 | Peñarol |
| Santiago Civetta | Back row | 28 February 1998 | 22 | Peñarol |
| Manuel Diana | Back row | 7 March 1996 | 36 | Peñarol |
| Eric Dosantos | Back row | 25 February 1995 | 13 | Peñarol |
| Santiago Álvarez | Scrum-half | 24 December 2001 | 5 | Peñarol |
| Santiago Arata | Scrum-half | 2 September 1996 | 45 | Castres Olympique |
| Tomás Inciarte | Scrum-half | 22 October 1996 | 30 | Peñarol |
| Felipe Berchesi | Fly-half | 12 April 1991 | 43 | Dax |
| Felipe Etcheverry | Fly-half | 23 June 1996 | 17 | Peñarol |
| Juan Zuccarino | Fly-half | 5 May 1999 | 2 | MVCC |
| Juan Manuel Alonso | Centre | 19 September 2001 | 7 | MVCC |
| Felipe Arcos Pérez | Centre | 17 May 2001 | 9 | Peñarol |
| Andrés Vilaseca (c) | Centre | 8 May 1991 | 73 | Vannes |
| Nicolás Freitas | Wing | 3 July 1993 | 48 | Vannes |
| Rodrigo Silva | Wing | 2 November 1992 | 76 | Peñarol |
| Gastón Mieres | Fullback | 5 October 1989 | 80 | Lobos |
Individual all-time records
Most matches
| # | Player | Pos | Tenure | Mat | Start | Sub | Pts | Tries | Won | Lost | Draw | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diego Magno | Flanker | 2008- | 103 | 64 | 39 | 60 | 12 | 48 | 53 | 2 | 50.00 |
| 2 | Gaston Mieres | Fullback | 2010- | 80 | 70 | 10 | 85 | 17 | 43 | 35 | 2 | 56.57 |
| 3 | Mateo Sanguinetti | Prop | 2014- | 77 | 64 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 40 | 37 | 0 | 54.28 |
| 4 | Leandro Leivas | Wing | 2008-2019 | 76 | 63 | 13 | 120 | 24 | 32 | 42 | 2 | 43.42 |
| Mario Sagario | Prop | 2006-2019 | 76 | 53 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 42 | 2 | 43.42 | |
| Rodrigo Silva | Fullback | 2012- | 76 | 69 | 7 | 114 | 19 | 40 | 36 | 0 | 56.71 | |
| 7 | Andres Vilaseca | Wing | 2013- | 73 | 70 | 3 | 95 | 16 | 40 | 32 | 1 | 58.33 |
| 8 | Juan Manuel Gaminara | Flanker | 2010-2019 | 71 | 66 | 5 | 35 | 7 | 34 | 35 | 2 | 49.29 |
| Alejandro Nieto | Number 8 | 2012-2019 | 71 | 62 | 9 | 35 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 1 | 57.04 | |
| 10 | Carlos Arboleya | Hooker | 2004-2018 | 67 | 39 | 28 | 25 | 5 | 29 | 37 | 1 | 44.02 |
| Rodrigo Sanchez | Prop | 1996-2009 | 67 | 58 | 9 | 25 | 5 | 26 | 41 | 0 | 38.80 |
Last updated: Tonga vs Uruguay, 19 November 2022. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most tries
| # | Player | Pos | Span | Mat | Start | Sub | Pts | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diego Ormaechea | Number 8 | 1979-1999 | 54 | 51 | 3 | 151 | 33 |
| 2 | Leandro Leivas | Wing | 2008-2019 | 76 | 63 | 13 | 120 | 24 |
| 3 | Rodrigo Silva | Fullback | 2012- | 75 | 68 | 7 | 114 | 19 |
| 4 | Gaston Mieres | Fullback | 2010- | 80 | 70 | 10 | 85 | 17 |
| 5 | German Kessler | Hooker | 2015- | 58 | 43 | 15 | 80 | 16 |
| Andres Vilaseca | Wing | 2013- | 73 | 70 | 3 | 100 | 16 | |
| 7 | Santiago Arata | Scrum-half | 2016- | 45 | 29 | 16 | 70 | 14 |
| Federico Sciarra | Scrum-half | 1990-1999 | 40 | 38 | 2 | 272 | 14 | |
| 9 | Alfonso Cardoso | Centre | 1995-2003 | 38 | 35 | 3 | 67 | 13 |
| 10 | Diego Magno | Flanker | 2008- | 103 | 64 | 39 | 60 | 12 |
Last updated: Tonga vs Uruguay, 19 November 2022. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most points
| # | Player | Pos | Span | Mat | Pts | Tries | Conv | Pens | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Berchesi | Fly-half | 2011- | 43 | 369 | 2 | 55 | 82 | 1 |
| 2 | Federico Sciarra | Scrum-half | 1990-1999 | 40 | 272 | 14 | 36 | 44 | 1 |
| 3 | Juan Menchaca | Fullback | 1998-2007 | 39 | 254 | 6 | 28 | 51 | 5 |
| 4 | Jerónimo Etcheverry | Fly-half | 2008-2016 | 45 | 213 | 8 | 37 | 30 | 3 |
| 5 | Mathias Arocena | Fly-half | 2005-2014 | 36 | 204 | 8 | 25 | 37 | 1 |
| 6 | Federico Favaro | Wing | 2013- | 37 | 200 | 11 | 38 | 23 | 0 |
| 7 | Marcelo Nicola | Fly-half | 1989-1995 | 22 | 178 | 10 | 36 | 20 | 0 |
| 8 | Agustín Ormaechea | Scrum-half | 2011- | 54 | 157 | 8 | 21 | 25 | 0 |
| Jorge Zerbino | Flanker | 1973-1985 | 27 | 157 | 8 | 19 | 29 | 0 | |
| 10 | Diego Ormaechea | Number 8 | 1979-1999 | 54 | 151 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: Tonga vs Uruguay, 19 November 2022. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most matches as captain
| # | Player | Pos | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | % | Pts | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Manuel Gaminara | Flanker | 2016-2019 | 40 | 27 | 13 | 0 | 67.50 | 20 | 4 |
| 2 | Diego Ormaechea | Number 8 | 1985-1999 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 55.55 | 109 | 23 |
| 3 | Jorge Zerbino | Flanker | 1975–1985 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 65.00 | 120 | 7 |
| 4 | Andres Vilaseca | Center | 2018-present | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 80.00 | 15 | 3 |
| 5 | Diego Aguirre | Fly-half | 2002-2003 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 37.50 | 21 | 1 |
Last updated: Tonga vs Uruguay, 19 November 2022. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Notable players
This list of "famous" or "notable" persons has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to define clear inclusion criteria and edit the list to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (January 2018) |
Past Coaches
Since the 1999 Rugby World Cup
| Years | Coach |
|---|---|
| 1994–2000 | Daniel Herrera |
| 2001–2003 | Diego Ormaechea |
| 2004–2005 | Sebastián Piñeyrúa |
| 2006–2007 | Nicolás Inciarte & Fernando Silva |
| 2007 | José Brancato & Francisco Berrutti |
| 2007–2008 | Alberico Passadore |
| 2008–2009 | García Porcel |
| 2009 | Felipe Puig |
| 2010 | Gonzalo Camardón |
| 2011 | Sebastián Piñeyrúa |
| 2011–2015 | Pablo Lemoine |
| 2015–present | Esteban Meneses |
See also
- Rugby union in Uruguay
- Campeonato Uruguayo de Rugby – Club Championship of Uruguay
References
- ^ Richards, p54, Chapter 2 Practising the Games of the Anglo-Saxon...
- ^ "Uruguay qualify for Rugby World Cup 2015" 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, IRB.com, 11 October 2014.
- ^ "Uruguay shock Fiji in World Cup thriller to pull off historic victory". Guardian. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ "Uruguay pull off massive shock with World Cup win over Fiji". The 42. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ "Rugby: Nightclub files criminal complaint against Uruguay players". Kyodo News. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "The World Rugby Men's Ranking". World Rugby. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Uruguay rugby statistics
- ^ Los Teros squad named for European tour
External links
- Teros XV – Official Site
- Uruguay – Rugbydata.com
- Uruguay Official Matches