Maqonda Ndlovu
Namibia lost their International Test match 26-18 to Uruguay in Montevideo, Uruguay on Saturday as the 2023 Rugby World Cup final preparations continued.
The clash was seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France later this year, as both teams are in Group A with hosts France, Italy and favourites New Zealand.
Uruguay dominated the early stages of the match as they put Namibia under pressure, with their captain Andrés Vilaseca scoring the first try from a maul to put the hosts 7-0 up.
Eighth man Carlos Deus caught the Welwitschias napping when he scored the second try for his team following a pick and after Namibia had been penalised on their five-metre line, leaving the scoreboard reading 12-0 in favour of the home team.
Namibia suffered a further setback when Divan Roussouw was given a yellow card in the 36th minute, but the Welwitschias dug deep to score a penalty a minute later and a try in the 39th minute, leaving the scoreline at 12-8 at halftime.
Uruguay also lost Felipe Aros Perez in the dying minutes of the half to a yellow card.
The second half saw a mini-revival for Namibia as Wian Conradie crossed the whitewash for Namibia to take a 13-12 lead.
That was as good as it could be for the Welwitschias, as Perez scored a converted try to put the hosts ahead 19-13 in the 48th minute.
Namibia made a raft of changes, and that seemed to stabilise them, but Uruguay struck again with Augustin Ormaechea in the 63rd minute.
That left Namibia with a mountain to climb as the host nation led 26-13.
Danco Burger reduced the deficit with a try, which was not converted, as the match ended 28-18 in favour of the host nation.
The victory will certainly boost Uruguay’s belief as these two sides will meet at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France on 27 September at the OL Stadium, Lyon.
Uruguay takes on the Argentina XV next weekend at home, while Namibia travels to Santiago, Chile, before concluding their preparations with a match against the South African franchise team, the Blue Bulls, in Windhoek.