Uruguay eye ‘history’ with Italy win after statement France loss
LILLE, France, Sept 15, 2023 (AFP): Uruguay’s main focus before the Rugby World Cup began was next week’s game with Italy as they eye finishing third in the pool to guarantee automatic qualification for 2027′s edition.
Despite the wider objective, the South Americans ranked 17th in the world showed on Thursday that they can match the best as they ran France close. The host nation needed a late Louis Bielle-Biarrey try to make sure of a 27-12 win in Lille.
Los Teros trailed by just a point with 26 minutes remaining thanks to superb tries from Nicolas Freitas and Baltazar Amaya.
“We know being able to play with such confidence and matching France was our goal, that was the key to the game,” head coach Esteban Meneses said.
“It’s a game that has given us a lot of information (so we do not) repeat our mistakes against Italy,” he added.
Meneses’s side last played a leading rugby nation in November 2021, losing 17-10 loss to Italy. It came less than two years after their most famous result, shocking Fiji at the World Cup in Japan.