Jubilant Uruguay have made a couple of changes to their starting line-up to face Georgia in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup Pool D clash, dropping two ‘heroes of Kamaishi’ who helped them pull off a shock 30-27 victory over Fiji in their tournament opener.
Tight-head prop Juan Pedro Rombys comes into the side in the place of Diego Arbelo, while at the back of the scrum Manuel Diana, a try-scorer against Fiji, makes way for No.8 Alejandro Nieto.
Uruguay battled in the scrum against Fiji with their Argentine coach Esteban Meneses choosing to bolster the set-piece against a physical and powerful Georgian forward pack that at times troubled Wales in their 43-14 loss on Monday.
The team is otherwise a show of faith by Meneses, who might have wanted to use his extended squad in what is a quick turnaround of only four days between matches, but has largely opted for continuity.
Five-eighth Felipe Berchesi will be key in controlling the game for the South American side and will set a personal milestone if he adds to his career tally of 30 World Cup points, beating the Uruguay record he jointly holds with Diego Aguirre.
Flanker Juan Manuel Gaminara will captain the team and be tasked with keeping emotions in check after Uruguay secured the first shock win of the World Cup in Japan, sparking wild scenes of celebration in Kamaishi.
Uruguay:
Gaston Mieres, Nicolas Freitas, Juan Manuel Cat, Andres Vilaseca, Rodrigo Silva, Felipe Berchesi, Santiago Arata, Alejandro Nieto, Santiago Civetta, Juan Manuel Gaminara (capt), Manuel Leindekar, Ignacio Dotti, Juan Pedro Rombys, German Kessler, Mateo Sanguinetti. Res: Facundo Gattas, Juan Echeverria, Diego Arbelo, Diego Magno, Juan Diego Ormaechea, Manuel Ardao, Agustin Ormaechea, Leandro Leivas.