Rugby World Cup: Uruguay post first shock of tournament with 30-27 win over Fiji

Uruguay's players celebrate a famous win over Fiji

Only days after coming close to a shock result when it led Australia 14-12 at half-time before losing 39-21, tenth-ranked Fiji found themselves on the wrong end of a larger surprise, going down for the first time in four meetings to Los Teros, ranked 19th in the world.

Fiji scored first but Uruguay ran in three first-half tries to lead 24-12 by half-time.

Fly-half Felipe Berchesi kicked two penalties to keep his team in front throughout the second half, finishing with three conversions and three penalties for 15 points.

His last penalty, in the 75th minute, gave Uruguay an eight-point lead and proved decisive in securing only their third win at a World Cup, and a first in 16 years. Uruguay's other wins were over Georgia and Spain.

"I was thinking to myself to treat it just like in training, as if the stadium was empty," Berchesi said. "I had cramps in my legs so I focused on kicking like I do in training, and aiming for the middle, inside the posts. It went through, luckily."

Fiji threw everything at Uruguay in an effort to wrest back control of the game in the second half but their most ambitious attempts failed through passing and handling errors and they paid dearly for poor goalkicking by Josh Matavesi and Ben Volavola.

A try after the full-time siren by Glasgow Warriors' Niko Matawalu - his second of the match, which typically went unconverted - was enough to earn Fiji two losing bonus points. But the result severely jeopardized the Pacific Islanders' hopes of winning a place in the knock-out rounds.

"It is going to be challenging for us," Fiji coach John McKee said. "We are relying a lot on other points now and, for us, we just have to focus on our match against Georgia in eight days.

"That is the only focus for us now, to play well in that match and win the game and, if we can, securing the bonus point."

Asked if his team had taken Uruguay too lightly, McKee said, "I hope that we didn't." Fiji captain Dominiko Waqaniburotu said they did: "We underestimated a very good Uruguay team, congratulations to them."

The match was one of the most thrilling in World Cup history, full of dramatic twists and turns and brought to life by the indomitable spirit of the Uruguay team which was given a slim chance of upsetting star-studded Fiji.

"I'm really proud of my country, we're not the biggest or tallest but we came here to win, we have been preparing for four years," Uruguay head coach Esteban Meneses said.

"We've never had anything granted, we always have to qualify first and you saw the passion."

Uruguay are the youngest team at the tournament, an assembly of home-based players who mostly are semi-professional and can't match the array of global stars which Fiji has at their disposal.

They played with magnificent discipline and organisation to exploit Fiji's errors and lead through most of the first half after conceding an opening try after just eight minutes.

Uruguay then showed extraordinary spirit to hold out Fiji as they mounted attack after attack in the late stages of the second half. The Uruguay players looked close to exhaustion and emptied their bench by the end of the third quarter.

But they continued to defend with unshakeable courage, led by captain Juan Manuel Gaminara who tackled himself to a standstill.

Fiji were denied a try in the 80th minute when replacement flyhalf Volavola lost the ball just short of the line. Matawalu then scored the final try but it came too late to shift the result.

Fiji scored twice early through another Scotstoun representative, hooker Mesu Dolokoto, and prop Eroni Mawi and from what appeared to be set moves.

But Uruguay produced magnificent responses through scrum-half Santiago Arana and and back-rower Diana before a try to Juan Manuel Cat ensured they led at halftime.

Fiji cut into the lead with a try to Tevita Ratuva but Berchesi kept his tiring team ahead.

The match brought consolation and new life to a fishing town struck eight years ago by a ruinous earthquake and tsunami.

It seemed almost all of the town's population of 35,000 were in attendance, along with Japan's Crown Prince Akishino, brother of Emperor Naruhito.

Prior to kick-off at the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium both teams observed a minute of silence for the more than 1,000 people from the town who lost their lives.

The March 11 2011 tsunami destroyed 30 per cent of homes, 60 per cent of businesses, and the stadium is built on the site of two schools destroyed by the wave.

The sombre note quickly passed, giving way to a celebration of rugby and of the town's spirit.

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