Uruguay Have their moments against All Blacks XV

Uruguay had their moments against the All Blacks XV on Saturday. Played in Béziers, France the South Americans trailed 19-14 at half-time but ultimately were beaten 45-21. The uncapped fixture bridged Los Teros’ gap in between the November test matches against Portugal and Romania.

Uruguay’s three tries were converted by rookie Jean Cotarmanac’h. The 20-year-old Vannes playmaker made his test debut the prior week against Os Lobos in Lisbon.

The opening Uruguayan try was scored by the veteran of Rugby World Cups 1999 and 2023, Felipe Etcheverry. He played the match out of position at scrum-half, an experimentation that came together with Cotarmanac’h starting at fly half. The try was from a lineout to maul.

Uruguay’s second try was scored by utility back, Juan Manuel Alonso. The wing / center played the match at inside center. The try saw Etcheverry kicking the ball over the defense and Alonso chasing to get the bounce and score under the posts. Cotarmanac’h converted to give Los Teros a 14-12 lead on 30 minutes.

The third, and final, Uruguayan try was scored by replacement forward Carlos Deus. The 53rd minute score came from a lineout to maul move. The Uruguayan maul inched towards the All Blacks XV’s try zone before being stopped. Deus then scored from a pick-and-go.

MATCH NOTES

The match was the third between Uruguay and New Zealand. The first was an uncapped match in 1976 while the second was a Rugby World Cup match in 2023. Like the first match, caps were not awarded.
The All Blacks XV featured Dalton Papali’i, Braydon Ennor, Folau Fakatawa, Dallas McLeod and Brodie McAlister who are capped by New Zealand.
Franco Scaldaferri and Arturo Ten Hoever played for Uruguay for the first-time.
Felipe Aliaga captained Uruguay in place of Manuel Leindekar following a knock against Portugal.
Jean Cotarmanac’h and Francisco González Capdevila had their first starts for Uruguay. Both men debuted vs Portugal.

SCORING

ALL BLACKS XV (45)
TRY – Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens 2 (3′, 74′), Folau Fakatava (26′), Etene Nanai-Seturo (32′), Benet Kumeroa (46′), Braydon Ennor (61′), Daniel Rona (70′)
CON – Rivez Reihana 5 (27′, 33′, 47′, 62′, 75′)
YC – Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens (41′)

URUGUAY (21)
TRY – Felipe Etcheverry (14′), Juan Manuel Alonso (30′), Carlos Deus (53′)
CON – Jean Cotarmanac’h 3 (15′, 31′, 55′)
YC – Lucas Bianchi (38′)

LINE-UPS

ALL BLACKS XV
1 Josh Fusitu’a, 2 Bradley Slater, 3 George Dyer, 4 Josh Beehre, 5 Caleb Delany, 6 Te Kamaka Howden, 7 Sean Withy, 8 Dalton Papali’i (capt.), 9 Folau Fakatawa, 10 Rivez Reihana, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12 Dallas McLeod, 13 Braydon Ennor, 14 Chay Fihaki, 15 Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens

Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Siale Lauaki, 18 Benet Kumeroa, 19 Devan Flanders, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Xavier Roe, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Daniel Rona

URUGUAY
1 Francisco Suárez, 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Ignacio Péculo, 4 Felipe Aliaga (capt.), 5 Manuel Rosmarino, 6 Santiago Civetta, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Felipe Etcheverry, 10 Jean Cotarmanac’h, 11 Franco Scaldaferri, 12 Juan Manuel Alonso, 13 Joaquín Suárez, 14 Bautista Basso, 15 Francisco González Capdevila

Replacements: 16 Sebastián Pérez, 17 Mateo Perillo, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Carlos Deus, 20 Manuel Diana, 21 Arturo Ten Hoever, 22 Ícaro Amarillo, 23 Ignacio Álvarez Akiki

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS