Uruguay national rugby union team

The Uruguay national rugby union team (Spanish: Selección de rugby de Uruguay), nicknamed Los Teros, represents the Uruguayan Rugby Union in men's international rugby union . One of the older test sides in the world, Uruguay has qualified five times for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019 and most recently 2023. As of 10 July 2023 they are ranked 17th in the world, and are ranked 2nd in the Americas region, behind rivals Argentina.

Uruguay

Nickname	Los Teros
Emblem	Southern lapwing
Union	Uruguayan Rugby Union
Head coach	Rodolfo Ambrosio
Captain	Andrés Vilaseca
Most caps	Diego Magno (107)
Top scorer	Felipe Berchesi (369)
Top try scorer	Diego Ormaechea (33)
Home stadium	Estadio Charrúa
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	17 (as of 11 September 2023)
Highest	14 (2005)
Lowest	23 (2012, 2013, 2017)
First international
Chile 21–3 Uruguay  (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 August 1948)
Biggest win
Paraguay 6–102 Uruguay  (Puerto Iguazú, Argentina; 14 May 2011)
Biggest defeat
South Africa 134–3 Uruguay  (East London, South Africa; 11 June 2005)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (First in 1999)
Best result	Pool stage (1999, 2003, 2015, 2019, 2023)
Website	uru.org.uy/teros-xv-3

Uruguay has consistently been one of the better fringe international sides in rugby union, having consistently beaten Tier 2/3 competition from across the globe. Uruguay won the South American Rugby Championship in 1981, the only time (pre-2014) that a team other than Argentina won the tournament. They came second on 19 occasions and third the remaining 9. As of 2012, Uruguay has been classified as a Tier 2 nation, which allows them to receive more funding from World Rugby.

Their home stadium is Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo and holds up to 14,000 people. Estadio Domingo Burgueño has also been used for some fixtures in the Americas Rugby Championship.

The nickname Los Teros refers to the national bird of Uruguay, the southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis).

History

1900s–60s

Main article: Rugby union in Uruguay

Uruguay v. Chile in the 1951 South American championship held in Buenos Aires

The southern lapwing, commonly seen in uruguayan sport fields, became the emblem of the Uruguayan National Rugby Team.

There are reports of rugby football being played in Uruguay as early as 1865.^[1] The game was introduced by British immigrants, with the game being more popularized by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, who were of Irish origin. Because of this, Uruguay has one of the oldest rugby cultures outside the British Isles, and one of the most established in the South America.

Uruguay made their official international debut in 1948, in a game against Chile, which Uruguay lost 21–3. Following their debut match, they returned to competition in the Pan American Games, first against the more experienced Argentina, resulting in a 0–62 loss. Uruguay then faced Chile for the second time, defeating them by 8–3. The final match of the competition was a 17–10 win over Brazil. Uruguay thus became runners up in the first unofficial South American Rugby Championship.

Uruguay, after a four years hiatus, played Chile in 1956, who defeated them by 6–3. In 1958, they played for the first official South American Rugby Championship, in a pool of three countries. They first played Chile, this time losing by 9–34. The Teros met again Argentina, having another loss, this time by 3–50. Uruguay managed to defeat Peru (10–6) in the last game.

In 1960, Uruguay faced for the first time one of the powers of the Northern Hemisphere rugby, France XV, losing by 0–61 in Montevideo during a South American tour. Uruguay after this match entered their second South American Rugby Championship. They first won against Brazil in a close game (11–8), then losing to Chile (5–28) and Argentina (3–36) in the closest result to then between both countries.

1970s – 1980s

The 1970s started off with a win over Paraguay in 1971, which was followed by a win and loss against Chile and a win against Brazil. They also played Argentina twice in the 1970s. However, they won all their matches except for those against Argentina, as well as losing one game against Chile and drawing another. However, the next game against Argentina, two years later in 1979, Uruguay came close to defeating the Pumas, going down by just three points, the final score being 19 to 16.

The 1980s started off with a 54 to 14 win over Paraguay, which resulted in a winning streak that was stopped by Argentina in 1983. In 1985, France visited Montevideo for a second time to play the Teros, beating the locals 34–6. Another short undefeated streak occurred over 1987/1989, which was broken by a 19 to 17 loss against Chile. This was followed by a sound loss to Argentina and loss to a new opponent, the United States Eagles.

1990s

The 1990s started off with wins against of Chile, Brazil and Paraguay. This was followed by more wins over their traditional opponents, though Uruguay still lost to Argentina, they also played Canada in a competitive 28–9 loss in 1995. Uruguay played some of the bigger nations such as Argentina, Canada and the United States, although the Canada and U.S. games were a lot closer than some of their previous encounters.

A huge success for them was qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. They won their pool fixture against Spain, Uruguay finished third in their pool.

2000–present

Uruguay came within 10 points of Argentina in 2001, and also played nations such as Italy in the same year. Uruguay won most of their matches against their traditional Americas opponents in the early 2000s. Later in 2002, Uruguay defeated Canada, winning 25–23. They followed this up with a 10–9 win over the United States. They again qualified for the 2003 World Cup. They won their pool fixture against Georgia 24–12.

Uruguay's qualification for the 2007 World Cup started in Americas Round 3a, where they were grouped with Argentina and Chile. After losing their first match 26–0 to Argentina, they defeated Chile 43–15 in Montevideo, which saw them enter Round 4. In round 4 they faced the United States, and Uruguay lost on aggregate, and moved onto the repechage round as Americas 4. Uruguay played Portugal in the repechage over two legs — losing the first in Lisbon and winning the second in Montevideo — but lost on aggregate points and failed to qualify.

Uruguay lost the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualification. Uruguay had won the 2009 South American Rugby Championship "A" by defeating Brazil and Chile at the Estadio Charrúa. Uruguay then lost to the United States 22–27 and 6–27. In the repechage, Uruguay defeated Kazakhstan 44–7, but in the battle for the 20th and final spot at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Uruguay tied Romania at home 21–21 and lost 12–32 in Bucharest.

2015 Rugby World Cup repechage qualifier match between Uruguay and Russia

During the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Uruguay won the 2013 South American Rugby Championship "A", getting wins at the Estadio Charrúa against Brazil (58–7) and Chile (23–9). In March 2014, Uruguay faced the United States in a NACRA-CONSUR playoff for the last Americas qualification spot. Uruguay tied the home leg 27–27, but lost the away leg 32–13. Uruguay then moved to the repechage, where it defeated Hong Kong 28–3 at the Estadio Charrúa, to face Russia for the 20th and final spot at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Uruguay qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup by defeating Russia by an aggregate score of 57–49 in the two-game series, winning the second game at home 36–27 in front of 14,000 fans at the Charrua Stadium.^[2]

Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo, home of Los Teros.

Uruguay claimed three wins and two losses at the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship, but ranked fourth out of six because they only scored two bonus points. In 2017 the team also claimed three wins and two losses, finishing third. On 3 February 2018, Los Teros qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup as Americas 2 after beating Canada in the home-away leg, and started it with a surprising 30-27 win over Fiji on 25 September: it was Uruguay’s first World Cup win in 16 years.^[3][4]

On 30 October 2019, nightclub in southwestern Japan filed criminal complaint against players from the Uruguay team for 2019 Rugby World Cup for allegedly damaging property.^[5]

In 2021, Uruguay qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1, after a 1-1 series draw with the United States They lost the first game 19-16, but won the second game 34-15. They won on aggregate points (50-34) and are in Pool A with New Zealand, France, Italy and Namibia.

Record

Overall record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 as of 17 February 2025^[6]

Rank	Change[i]	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.78
2		Ireland	091.36
3		New Zealand	090.36
4		France	087.19
5		Argentina	084.97
6		England	083.63
7		Scotland	082.99
8		Australia	081.52
9		Fiji	080.07
10		Italy	078.67
11		Georgia	074.69
12		Wales	073.75
13		Japan	072.95
14		Samoa	072.68
15	1	Portugal	070.04
16	1	United States	070.02
17		Uruguay	067.06
18		Spain	065.60
19		Tonga	065.46
20		Romania	062.76
21		Chile	061.72
22		Hong Kong	059.49
23		Canada	059.18
24		Netherlands	059.16
25		Namibia	057.87
26		Zimbabwe	057.16
27	2	Belgium	057.10
28	1	Brazil	056.53
29	2	Switzerland	054.98
30		Sweden	054.10

1. Change from the previous week

Uruguay's historical rankings

See or edit source data.

Source: World Rugby^[6]
Graph updated to 17 February 2025

Uruguay has lost all official matches versus Argentina, but has a winning record against their other South American rivals such as Chile, Paraguay, and Brazil. They played Chile for the fiftieth time during the 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, winning 26–25.^[7][8]

Regarding tier 2 teams, Uruguay has winning records against Namibia, Spain, Portugal and Russia, and losing records against the United States, Canada, Japan, Georgia, Romania, and Fiji.

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Uruguay national XV at test level up until 23 November 2024.^[9]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	40	0	40	0	0.00%	401	1,732	−1,331
Argentina XV	15	5	9	1	33.33%	329	530	−201
Argentina Jaguars	2	0	2	0	0.00%	40	101	−61
Australia	2	0	2	0	0.00%	13	110	−97
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100%	39	13	+26
Brazil	31	28	3	0	90.32%	1060	328	+732
Canada	13	5	8	0	38.46%	232	370	−138
Chile	50	39	10	1	78%	1229	753	+476
Emerging Ireland	3	0	3	0	0.00%	43	126	−83
England	2	0	2	0	0.00%	16	171	−155
Fiji	4	1	3	0	25%	76	181	−105
Fiji XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	24	−21
Fiji Warriors	3	1	2	0	33.33%	73	82	−9
France	2	0	2	0	0.00%	40	70	−30
France XV	3	0	3	0	0.00%	16	136	−120
Georgia	7	2	5	0	28.57%	104	175	−71
Germany	1	0	1	0	0.00%	21	24	−3
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0	100%	28	3	+25
Italy	5	0	5	0	0.00%	52	147	−95
Emerging Italy	4	2	2	0	50%	90	89	+1
Italy A	1	0	1	0	0%	13	31	–18
Japan	6	1	5	0	16.67%	74	201	−127
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0	100%	44	7	+37
Morocco	2	1	1	0	100%	36	24	+12
Namibia	6	5	1	0	83.33%	204	156	+48
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	0.00%	0	73	−73
New Zealand XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	64	−61
Paraguay	26	25	0	1	96.15%	1322	238	+1084
Peru	1	1	0	0	100%	10	6	+4
Portugal	10	7	3	0	70%	234	142	+92
Romania	14	3	10	1	21.43%	211	375	−164
Russia	9	5	4	0	55.56%	231	215	+16
Samoa	1	0	1	0	0.00%	13	60	−47
Scotland	2	0	2	0	0.00%	31	74	−43
Scotland A	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	27	−24
South Africa	3	0	3	0	0.00%	12	245	−233
South Africa President's XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	9	37	−28
Spain	15	7	8	0	46.67%	295	272	+23
United States	20	4	15	1	20%	364	612	−248
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	100%	92	8	+84
Wales	2	0	2	0	0.00%	22	89	−67
Total	314	146	163	5	46.5%	7,128	8,121	−993

World Cup record

Main article: Uruguay at the Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup record											Qualification
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad	Head coach		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1987	Not invited										Not invited
1991	Did not enter										Did not enter
1995	Did not qualify										2nd	3	2	0	1	91	28
1999	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	42	97	Squad	D. Herrera		4th	9	5	0	4	209	188
2003	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	56	255	Squad	D. Ormaechea		2nd	6	3	0	3	115	144
2007	Did not qualify										2nd	6	2	0	4	86	140
2011											1st	6	2	1	3	178	126
2015	Pool Stage	4	0	0	4	30	226	Squad	P. Lemoine		1st	9	6	1	2	260	168
2019	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	60	140	Squad	E. Meneses		1st	8	8	0	0	318	160
2023	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	65	164	Squad			1st	4	3	0	1	101	57
Total	—	19	4	0	15	253	882	—	—		—	51	31	2	18	1358	1011
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Current squad

On 1 November, Uruguay named a 30-player squad for their 2024 November internationals.

Head Coach: Rodolfo Ambrosio

• Caps Updated: 23 November 2024

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Joaquín Myszka	Hooker	(2002-04-15) 15 April 2002 (age 22)	4	Peñarol
Guillermo Pujadas	Hooker	(1997-02-06) 6 February 1997 (age 28)	37	Chicago Hounds
Diego Arbelo	Prop	(1994-08-19) 19 August 1994 (age 30)	27	Rouen
Ignacio Péculo	Prop	(1999-02-22) 22 February 1999 (age 25)	22	Chicago Hounds
Mateo Perillo	Prop	(2000-11-11) 11 November 2000 (age 24)	5	Peñarol
Reinaldo Piussi	Prop	(1999-05-18) 18 May 1999 (age 25)	9	Miami Sharks
Mateo Sanguinetti	Prop	(1992-07-26) 26 July 1992 (age 32)	90	Peñarol
Felipe Aliaga	Lock	(1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 (age 25)	14	Peñarol
Federico de Los Santos	Lock		0	Los Cuervos
Ignacio Dotti	Lock	(1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 30)	65	Old Glory
Manuel Leindekar	Lock	(1997-04-23) 23 April 1997 (age 27)	38	Oyonnax
Lucas Bianchi	Back row	(2001-03-26) 26 March 2001 (age 23)	18	Peñarol
Santiago Civetta	Back row	(1998-02-28) 28 February 1998 (age 26)	36	Peñarol
Manuel Diana	Back row	(1996-03-07) 7 March 1996 (age 28)	47	Peñarol
Carlos Deus	Back row	(2001-07-05) 5 July 2001 (age 23)	12	Peñarol
Francisco Suárez Folch	Back row		0	La Plata
Arturo Ten Hoever	Back row	(2004-01-15) 15 January 2004 (age 21)	0	Rouen
Santiago Álvarez	Scrum-half	(2001-12-24) 24 December 2001 (age 23)	12	Peñarol
Pedro Hoblog	Scrum-half	(2003-06-14) 14 June 2003 (age 21)	0	Peñarol
Ícaro Amarillo	Fly-half	(2004-05-04) 4 May 2004 (age 20)	3	Peñarol
Joaquín Suárez	Fly-half	(2003-05-11) 11 May 2003 (age 21)	5	Peñarol
Juan Manuel Alonso	Centre	(2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 23)	14	Peñarol
Felipe Arcos Pérez	Centre	(2001-05-17) 17 May 2001 (age 23)	14	Peñarol
Bautista Basso	Centre	(2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 24)	11	Peñarol
Ignacio Facciolo	Wing	(1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 26)	2	Peñarol
Juan González	Wing		3	Peñarol
Gastón Mieres	Wing	(1989-10-05) 5 October 1989 (age 35)	86	Peñarol
Mateo Viñals	Wing	(1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 (age 26)	6	Peñarol
Ignacio Álvarez	Fullback	(2002-02-28) 28 February 2002 (age 22)	36	Peñarol
Baltazar Amaya	Fullback	(1999-05-26) 26 May 1999 (age 25)	13	Peñarol

Individual all-time records

Most matches

#	Player	Pos	Tenure	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Won	Lost	Draw	%
1	Diego Magno	Flanker	2008-2024	107	65	42	60	12	50	55	2	48.00
2	Mateo Sanguinetti	Prop	2014-	90	75	15	20	4	45	45	0	50.00
3	Gaston Mieres	Fullback	2010-2024	86	74	12	90	18	46	38	2	56.57
4	Andres Vilaseca	Center	2013-	81	78	3	100	16	44	36	1	58.33
5	Rodrigo Silva	Fullback	2012-2023	78	71	7	114	19	41	37	0	56.71
6	Leandro Leivas	Wing	2008-2019	76	63	13	120	24	32	42	2	43.42
	Mario Sagario	Prop	2006-2019	76	53	23	5	1	32	42	2	43.42
8	Juan Manuel Gaminara	Flanker	2010-2019	71	66	5	35	7	34	35	2	49.29
	Alejandro Nieto	Number 8	2012-2019	71	62	9	35	7	40	30	1	57.04
10	Carlos Arboleya	Hooker	2004-2018	67	39	28	25	5	29	37	1	44.02
	German Kessler	Hooker	2015-	67	51	16	100	20	38	29	0	55.80
	Rodrigo Sanchez	Prop	1996-2009	67	58	9	25	5	26	41	0	38.80

Last updated: Romania vs Uruguay, 23 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries
1	Diego Ormaechea	Number 8	1979-1999	54	51	3	151	33
2	Leandro Leivas	Wing	2008-2019	76	63	13	120	24
3	German Kessler	Hooker	2015-	67	51	16	100	20
4	Rodrigo Silva	Fullback	2012-2023	78	77	7	114	19
5	Gaston Mieres	Fullback	2010-2024	86	74	12	90	18
6	Andrés Vilaseca	Center	2013-	81	78	3	100	16
7	Santiago Arata	Scrum-half	2016-	50	34	16	75	15
8	Federico Sciarra	Scrum-half	1990-1999	40	38	2	272	14
9	Alfonso Cardoso	Centre	1995-2003	38	35	3	67	13
10	Diego Magno	Flanker	2008-2024	107	65	42	60	12

Last updated: Romania vs Uruguay, 23 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most points

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1	Felipe Berchesi	Fly-half	2011-2023	49	381	3	57	83	1
2	Federico Sciarra	Scrum-half	1990-1999	40	272	14	36	44	1
3	Juan Menchaca	Fullback	1998-2007	39	254	6	28	51	5
4	Jerónimo Etcheverry	Fly-half	2008-2016	45	213	8	37	30	3
5	Mathias Arocena	Fly-half	2005-2014	36	204	8	25	37	1
6	Federico Favaro	Wing	2013-2021	37	200	11	38	23	0
7	Marcelo Nicola	Fly-half	1989-1995	22	178	10	36	20	0
8	Agustín Ormaechea	Scrum-half	2011-2023	60	159	8	22	25	0
9	Jorge Zerbino	Flanker	1973-1985	27	157	8	19	29	0
10	Diego Ormaechea	Number 8	1979-1999	54	151	33	0	0	0

Last updated: Romania vs Uruguay, 23 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most matches as captain

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	%	Pts	Tries
1	Juan Manuel Gaminara	Flanker	2016-2019	40	27	13	0	67.50	20	4
2	Diego Ormaechea	Number 8	1985-1999	37	20	17	0	55.55	109	23
3	Andres Vilaseca	Center	2019-present	24	15	9	0	66.00	15	3
4	Jorge Zerbino	Flanker	1975–1985	20	12	6	2	65.00	120	7
5	Diego Aguirre	Fly-half	2002-2003	16	6	10	0	37.50	21	1

Last updated: Japan vs Uruguay, 16 November 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Notable players

• Diego Aguirre
• Rodrigo Capo Ortega
• Alfonso Cardoso
• Alejo Corral
• Diego Lamelas
• Juan Menchaca
• Diego Ormaechea
• Pablo Lemoine
• Juan Campomar
• Joaquin Pastore

Past Coaches

Since the 1999 Rugby World Cup

Years	Coach
1994–2000	Daniel Herrera
2001–2003	Diego Ormaechea
2004–2005	Sebastián Piñeyrúa
2006–2007	Nicolás Inciarte & Fernando Silva
2007	José Brancato & Francisco Berrutti
2007–2008	Alberico Passadore
2008–2009	García Porcel
2009	Felipe Puig
2010	Gonzalo Camardón
2011	Sebastián Piñeyrúa
2011–2015	Pablo Lemoine
2016–2023	Esteban Meneses
2024–present	Rodolfo Ambrosio

See also

• Rugby union in Uruguay
• Campeonato Uruguayo de Rugby – Club Championship of Uruguay

References

1. Richards, p54, Chapter 2 Practising the Games of the Anglo-Saxon...
2. "Uruguay qualify for Rugby World Cup 2015" Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, IRB.com, 11 October 2014.
3. "Uruguay shock Fiji in World Cup thriller to pull off historic victory". Guardian. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
4. "Uruguay pull off massive shock with World Cup win over Fiji". The 42. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
5. "Rugby: Nightclub files criminal complaint against Uruguay players". Kyodo News. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
6. "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
7. "RWC 2023 Warm-Up – Uruguay vs Chile – ARN Guide". americas rugby news. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
8. "Uruguay hold on to win at home against Chile". americas rugby news. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
9. Uruguay rugby statistics

External links

• Official website
• Uruguay – Rugbydata.com
• Uruguay Official Matches