Currently ranked 19th in the world, Los Teros get their World Cup campaign underway on Sunday at the Millennium Stadium where they will face Warren Gatland’s men who will be determined to start their own crusade with a healthy morale-boosting victory.
Uruguay were the final team to reach Rugby World Cup 2015 after beating Russia in the repechage qualifier on aggregate over two games. While many expect the South Americans to be the whipping boys of Pool A, Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine has given the so-called Group of Death his own label.
“We are playing three of the top five in the world and for that reason for us it is not the group of death, it is the group of hope,” he said.
“We have a unique chance to play against those three teams and we are ready to enjoy that. That is not bad luck for us, we are really lucky.”
With Uruguay having only won two games – against Georgia and Spain – in their seven previous World Cup games, it would take a brave man to bet on that record improving any time soon but Lemoine, who won 49 caps as a prop before retiring from international rugby in 2010, remains optimistic.
“Every group at the Rugby World Cup would be difficult for us, to play against England, Australia and Wales in one month – it will probably never happen again for us.”
Scrum half Agustín Ormaechea is counting down the days before his team’s clash in Cardiff against Wales. His father Diego is the only player to score a try in a RWC game aged over 40. The former No 8 claimed 73 caps before hanging up his boots after the 1999 World Cup.
A former sevens player, Agustin Ormaechea will be playing in his first World Cup.
“For us this is a big opportunity, I have always dreamed of playing the Millennium Stadium, so it’s a dream come true,” he said.
While Uruguay will know everything there is to know about their opposition, Wales captain Sam Warburton is relying on his backroom staff to bring the squad up to speed on Uruguay’s strengths and weaknesses.
“The analysts have done a fantastic job. I can go on the laptop this morning and there are clips of every squad player, set piece and games they have played in the past. It means we can have a good look at them. We can look at the line-out and see what will be our best options moving forward,” he explained.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the analysts. They do a lot of hours and sometimes don’t get enough credit for working around the clock.
“It’s actually been a month since Uruguay played a bit. However, we expect them to be more organised than what we have seen.
“Obviously, we are still waiting for their team selection to be made, so we can have a really good look at them. At the moment we are just trying to focus on ourselves and doing what we have got to do.”
