In extremely demanding conditions with the players having to contend with soaring temperatures, Llandovery duo Chris Knight and Adam Warren scored first half tries to put Wales 19-0 before a soft try allowed the South Americans back in the game at the break.
Uruguay stepped up their own game in the second half, frustrating the Welsh side but Adam Thomas’s side finished brightly with James Davies showing a great turn of pace to outstrip the cover to score a wonderful solo effort which was followed by Alex Webber who used his dazzling footwork to seal victory.
A relieved Thomas, said: “It’s important we got the win, Uruguay are no mugs. Towards the end of the game the boys were a bit frustrated but to finish with a points difference of plus 28 was good and we’re happy to take that into the next two pool games tomorrow against Tonga and Fiji.
“It was disappointing to concede that soft try but it was important we didn’t let them score in the second half and we succeeded in doing that.”
Fiji must now be clear favourites to qualify top of the Pool E after thrashing Tonga 45-0 but Thomas isn’t overly concerned with the South Sea Islanders threat at this stage.
“We’ll take stock tonight and look forward to our games tomorrow. We’ve just got to focus on our job and try and come away with three wins in the pool.”
Knight poses a serious threat out wide while Webber also has a nose for the try-line so Wales will fancy their chances of making it through to the knockout stages on Sunday.
Adam Warren looked sharp in midfield while Craig Price and Thomas were imposing figures up front. What will offer head coach Paul John encouragement is the fact he now has a strong bench at his disposal. When he made changes against Uruguay, they all made their presence felt.
“We haven’t always had that strength in depth in the past but we know that every member of our 12-man squad can do a job,” concluded Thomas. “We go into tomorrow’s game with momentum behind us so hopefully we can carry that on.”
