POOL A

Uruguay

2019 WORLD CUP PLACING: POOLS

COACH: PABLO LEMOINE CAPTAIN: ANDRÉS VILASECA

WEBSITE: www.uru.org.uy

WORLD RANKING: 17TH TAB ODDS: $2501.00

Uruguay made history by qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2023 top of the Americas region following their home-and-away series victory against USA.

Uruguay, nicknamed Los Teros, overturned a three-point deficit from the first leg to defeat the highly fancied USA team 34–15 and go through 50–34 on aggregate. They are in Pool A alongside New Zealand, France, Namibia and Italy.

This will be Uruguay’s fifth appearance at a Rugby World Cup after competing previously in 1999, 2003, 2015 and 2019. On three of those four occasions, Los Teros managed to win at least one game so they will not be daunted by the task ahead of them. In Japan at the last tournament, they scored a memorable 30–27 victory over Fiji.

To play against heavyweights of the rugby world in the form of the All Blacks and France will only lift their performances higher. Their major goal will be to target a first-ever third-place pool finish to gain automatic qualification for Rugby World Cup 2027.

Uruguay’s no-nonsense pack of forwards love set pieces and physically imposing themselves on opposition packs. The halfback pairing of Agustin Ormaechea and Felipe Berchesi will be key. They are two of a small handful of players in the squad who play rugby outside of Uruguay, both playing in France. Most of the team are amateur players.

“I have dreamt about this for ages,” says Ormaechea. “To be heading to the greatest tournament in the world is an unbelievable feeling.” In a great family history moment, Andrés Vilaseca will captain Los Teros during the World Cup campaign, following in the footsteps of his brother, Santiago, who also captained Uruguay – at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Namibia

2019 WORLD CUP PLACING: POOLS COACH: ALLISTER COETZEE CAPTAIN: JOHAN DEYSEL

WEBSITE: www.namibianrugby.com

WORLD RANKING: 21ST TAB ODDS: $5001.00

Richard Hardwick impressed during this year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition, with the hard-working loose forward one of the best performing players for the Melbourne Rebels.

That form has seen Hardwick rewarded with a trip to France to compete at Rugby World Cup, but it will not be in the colours of Australia, who he gained two caps for in 2017. No, the former Wallaby will turn out for his country of birth, Namibia. Hardwick says his move to play for Namibia meant a lot to his family, as his father Michael represented the nation at cricket, golf and squash. “I think I can do a lot of good in Namibian rugby, not only representing them, but in developing and bring my experience from Australian rugby and at an international level as well.”

Winger Byron McGuigan, who played 10 tests for Scotland, will also turn out for the country of his birth.

Namibia, nicknamed the Welwitschias, qualified for their seventh successive Rugby World Cup by comprehensively beating Kenya 36–0 in Aix-en-Provence, France to win the Rugby Africa Cup in July last year. Flanker Wian Conradie, who scored a hat-trick of tries, five-eighth Cliven Loubser and captain Johan Deysel were three standout players in the impressive win over Kenya.

Namibia’s reward is a place in Pool A with host-country France, New Zealand, Italy and Uruguay. The team from South–West Africa has qualified for every World Cup since the 1999 tournament but have lost all 22 matches they have played.

This time they will be hopeful of notching up that first victory against Uruguay, but the South Americans showed they will be formidable foes by defeating the USA to qualify.