Uruguay name World Cup squad
Lock Santiago Vilaseca, aged 30, captains a Uruguay squad containing no survivors from Los Teros' two previous appearances at the World Cup in 1999 and 2003. The South Americans did not qualify in 2007 and 2011.
Vilaseca, who won the first of his 32 caps back in 2008, is one of 26 domestic-based players named by head coach Pablo Lemoine. Four players in the squad play professionally in Europe: Felipe Berchesi [Carcassonne, France Pro2], Agustin Ormaechea [Stade Montois, Pro2, France], Mario Sagario [Massy, France, Pro2] and Gaston Mieres [Valpollicella, Serie A, Italy] and prop Alejo Corral is with SIC in Argentina.
Flyhalf Bechesi was a key figure in Uruguay’s qualifying campaign, scoring 75 points in the five-match series of Americas/Repechage play-offs, as Los Teros booked their place in Pool A alongside hosts England, Australia, Wales and Fiji.
Forward Diego Magno made his Los Teros debut the same year as Vilaseca and has gone on to win 48 caps, the highest number in a squad boasting a combined total of 812 caps at an average of 26 per player.
While none of the current playing squad have experienced a Rugby World Cup before, the coaching team of Lemoine, forwards coach Juan Carlos Bado and backs coach Emiliano Caffera have all represented their country on the world's biggest stage. Lemoine and Bado in 1999 and 2003 and Caffera in 2003.
Scrumhalf Agustin Ormaechea follows in the footsteps of his father, Uruguayan rugby icon Diego, who captained his country at the 1999 World Cup and still holds the record for being the oldest player in World Cup history, aged 40 years and 26 days.
Uruguay begin their Pool A fixtures against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on September 20.
Uruguay World Cup squad:
Forwards: Alejo Corral, Carlos Arboleya, Mateo Sanguinetti, Mario Sagario, Oscar Duran, Nicolas Klappenbach, German Kessler, Santiago Vilaseca, Jorge Zerbino, Mathias Palomeque, Franco Lamanna, Juan Manuel Gaminara, Diego Magno, Alejandro Nieto, Juan de Freitas, Agustin Alonso, Fernando Bascou, Matias Beer.
Backs: Agustin Ormaechea, Alejo Duran, Felipe Berchesi, Manuel Blengio, Andres Vilaseca, Joaquin Prada, Alberto Roman, Francisco Bulanti, Santiago Gibernau, Leandro Leivas, Jeronimo Etcheverry, Rodrigo Silva, Gaston Mieres.
