Rugby World Cup 2023 | Match Centre | Uruguay 36:26 Namibia

Uruguay Secures First Rugby World Cup Pool Win, Denies Namibia Historic Victory

Uruguay triumphed over Namibia in Lyon, marking their inaugural pool stage victory at the Rugby World Cup, and dashed Namibia’s hopes of clinching their first-ever win in the competition.

In the first half, Namibia seemed dominant with early tries courtesy of Gerswin Mouton and JC Greyling, complemented by Tiaan Swanepoel’s precise kicking.

However, Uruguay made a fierce comeback in the second half, securing tries from Baltazar Amaya, Santiago Arata, and Bautista Basso.

Namibia’s hopes of a historic win were dashed when prop Desiderius Sethie received a red card, effectively ending their chances.

Uruguay entered the fixture as favorites, having previously impressed by denying the hosts, France, a bonus-point win and leading against Italy at halftime.

Namibia’s head coach, Allister Coetzee, had reshuffled his squad for their previous match against France, which resulted in a daunting 96-0 defeat. The focus was on securing Namibia’s first World Cup win in their 26th attempt, in their final match of this year’s tournament.

Although Namibia displayed promise early on, with Mouton scoring an intercept try within the first minute, the toll of playing four games in just 18 days began to show in the second half. Two remarkable individual plays by full-back Amaya and Arata propelled Uruguay into the lead for the first time.

Namibia’s disciplinary issues, particularly Johan Coetzee’s sin-binning, proved costly. Captain Tjiuee Uanivi also received a yellow card, and Sethie’s yellow card was escalated to a red for a direct head contact tackle.

This victory marked Uruguay’s fourth win in their Rugby World Cup history, with their final pool stage match against New Zealand scheduled for next Thursday.

However, for Namibia, the quest for their first tournament win continues.

Match Summary

Pool A | Uruguay 36:26 Namibia

Uruguay Scores:

Namibia Scores:

Referee:

Mathieu Raynal

Man of the match:

Santiago Arata (Uruguay)

Highlights

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