Ulster Rugby v Uruguay

CARDIFF BLUES 45 URUGUAY 21 MATCH REPORT - 6 NOVEMBER 2018

Uruguay began their November series tour with a 45-21 defeat to Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park on Tuesday evening. The opening exchanges at a drenched Arms Park were littered with errors but Uruguay soon took territorial control. After kicking a penalty to the corner, ‘Los Teros’ claimed the opening try with second-row Ignacio Dotti powering over from close range. Federico Favaro converted but it did not take the Blues long to respond. They quickly reclaimed possession and worked their way into the Uruguay half, with Alun Lawrence hitting a short ball from Dan Fish and skipping past two defenders to score. Matthew Morgan added the extras to level the scores and the free-flowing nature of the game continued as Cardiff Blues soon added a second. It all began with a Lewis Jones snipe and following fine interplay between Lawrence, Max Llewellyn, Rhys Carre and Liam Belcher, centre Llewellyn finished in the corner. Wales' Capital Region claimed the third try of the evening shortly after the restart as the pack rumbled over from a driving lineout to allow Ethan Lewis to dot down. They could have had a fourth when Cam Lewis raced after a kick through from Harri Millard, but he was taken out early as he attempted to collect. Favaro was subsequently sent to the bin but referee Adam Jones did not award the penalty try, adjudging that the wing still had plenty to do in the slippery conditions. However, they required no second invite as

they scored from the ensuing penalty with Ioan Davies collecting a Fish cross kick for a try on his full debut.

Millard was next to score for the home side, as quick hands from Llewellyn and Fish released the centre, who dummied past one defender before bundling through another for a fine try. Felipe Berchesi responded with a try for the visitors, which he then converted to give his side hope of a comeback and one minute later they were right back in it as Facundo Gattas crashed over. Berchesi was once again on target to cut Cardiff Blues' lead to 10 and set up a tense finale. However, Fish once again was the instigator for the hosts' sixth try, as his offload released experienced prop, Rhys Gill, for his first score in Cardiff Blues colours. In the final play of the game, a destructive scrum from the hosts saw referee Adam Jones run under the posts for a penalty try.

5

WWW.ULSTERRUGBY.COM