Uruguay’s shock win over Fiji was our greatest – this is how we did it | Ignacio Chans

Rugby is a sport where the established order heavily prevails. We all saw it this year, with the frustrated discussion about a possible World Nations League, and the opposition of several members of the Six Nations to change the status quo.

Rugby is also a very logical sport. It is almost impossible for a tier one country to lose to a tier two nation. Or that a country at the top end of tier two, such as Fiji, lose to one at the bottom end, such as Uruguay.

Fiji’s pack weighed 891kg, Uruguay’s 817. Impossible to compete, right? Not on Wednesday afternoon in Kamaishi. Because Los Teros clung to their fighting spirit to achieve one of the most incredible victories at a World Cup, measured by the differences between teams. Undoubtedly, it’s the most important result in the history of Uruguayan rugby.

Ten months ago, in Hartpury and in front of only 800 people, well away from the spotlight of the autumn internationals, Fiji crushed Uruguay 68-7. They controlled the game with astonishing ease and made everyone believe the World Cup game would be another beating.

However, that game was central for Los Teros. It was the only thing similar to a Test match against a tier one team that Uruguay had in the last four years. To grow you have to compete against the best, but for countries such as Uruguay – with a tiny base of 4,500 players – it is extremely difficult to get the opportunity to play those fixtures.

After that loss, the main goal for Uruguay became Fiji in the first match of the tournament. They knew everything that was needed to cut distances – physically, technically, mentally.


Uruguay’s historic 30-27 Rugby World Cup victory over Fiji – video highlights

After competing in England 2015 as “the last amateur team”, Uruguay made an unprecedented preparation for Japan 2019. The Uruguay Rugby Union hired 15 of its best local players and a few months later reached an agreement with USA Rugby to send 10 of them to the nascent Major League Rugby. In June, full-time preparation began with the 31 players of the squad, many of them amateurs who modified their routine to be part of the World Cup dream. Craig White, the former strength and conditioning coach of the British & Irish Lions, arrived and with him a team of four other British assistants. Argentinian Pablo Bouza started working as the lineout coach and Federico Todeschini as the kicking coach.

But nothing could have been achieved without the pioneering mentality of this team. Four years ago, Argentinian coach Esteban Meneses came to shake them. The 2015 World Cup had been good considering the amateur category of Uruguay but to keep moving forward new goals had to be set.

Meneses was clear: professionalism was needed, a more offensive game and direct classification, avoiding repechage, to show real progress.

Uruguay embraced that winning mentality. They qualified for the World Cup in the first instance, beating Canada, avoiding repechage. Also in 2019 they won against USA and Romania for the first time as visitors, and won three in a row at the Nations Cup, one of the main tournaments for tier two selections.

And when the World Cup arrived, players set a goal: “Shocking the world.” They said they wanted to beat Fiji and Georgia, and qualify directly to the 2023 World Cup, in order to demonstrate Uruguayan progress. Many believed it was too much. Until this match.

In Kamaishi, Uruguay showed all the results of that mental revolution and hard work. They physically dominated a larger team, showed an almost impenetrable defensive system, got 100% of their balls from the set pieces and had a correct kicking game. And when they had their chances, they attacked without hesitation.

Uruguay surprised a Fiji team that was waiting Hartpury’s rival in 2018, but they found a team that played the game as if it was the World Cup final. Now they have another one: Georgia on Sunday. It is difficult, especially because they have only four days of recovery. However, they will be a team on fire as never before, knowing they are facing the opportunity of their lives.

“It’s hard. But if we beat Fiji, Georgia will be a World Cup qualifying final. And nobody plays a World Cup qualifier better than us”, Juan Manuel Gaminara, the captain, told me a few months ago, when I was writing the book Los Teros: A story of pride and sacrifice of Uruguayan rugby. After the feat of Kamaishi, I don’t think there’s anyone left in the world who can say that Los Teros can’t try.

Ignacio Chans is a Uruguayan rugby writer and a member of the Guardian’s Rugby World Cup experts’ network

source: theguardian.com