Uruguay came to the Rugby World Cup to win two games for the first time. Namibia was knocked off last week and Los Teros has one more chance in the pool stage: New Zealand.
It will be the first meeting between the two sides and while the odds for Uruguay are astronomical that hasn’t dimmed their excitement or anticipation.
“You always prepare to win a game. On paper and in reality, it is something else,” Uruguay assistant coach Pablo Bouza said. “Playing as equals for much of the game is part of the objective. We are convinced that we will have the drive and intensity.”
Bouza is pragmatic because he has played and coached against the All Blacks 11 times with Argentina. The lock came off the bench three times in New Zealand. He was never involved in a win.
“They [All Blacks] are the most difficult team to face for our type of rugby,” Bouza said. “I remember several games we had under control, but they have all the tools and in two plays they can turn it around.”
The team goal is still possible, too.
“We came here to win two games,” scrumhalf Santiago Arata says. “We didn’t beat Italy but we’ve still got to play New Zealand. It will be amazing.”
Uruguay capitalised on three yellow cards to Namibia by overcoming a terrible start and winning their absorbing Rugby World Cup pool match 36-26. Los Teros recorded only a fourth win at a Rugby World Cup while extending Namibia’s tournament-record losing run to 26 matches since 1999.
Luke Kirkness is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.
