However, the growth of rugby in Uruguay can be attributed largely to the schools of the Christian Brothers which introduced the game from Ireland in the early twentieth century.

Rugby was being played in neighbouring Argentina and Brazil in the late nineteenth century, mainly by British immigrants, and there is some evidence of this within Uruguay itself.

[4] One observer, apparently disdainful of the Britons mixing with the "natives", found the 1880 match to be: After the Second World War, there was something of a revival, thanks largely to Carlos E. Cat, who had played for San Isidro (CASI) in the 1920s.

[5] Uruguay's rugby union international debut came in 1948, where they played a friendly match against Chile, which they eventually lost 21–3.

Its success led to the formation of the sports new governing body, the Uruguayan Rugby Union, in January 1951, with Carlos Cat as its first president.

One consequence was that Argentina's governing body could no longer call itself the "River Plate Rugby Union", as Uruguay occupied the east bank, and had to rename itself the UAR in November 1951.

Carrasco Polo was transformed by the coaching of Amarillo Washington, who used scientific methods to replace the earlier habits of "training hard, but then after matches going to the bar to eat and drink everything.

"[6] Carrasco's leading player Diego Ormaechea had been introduced to the sport as a fifteen-year-old in 1976 and was still playing for club and country more than twenty years later.

Uruguay finished third in their pool, winning one game against a weak Spanish side, which was not good enough to qualify for the knockout stages.

[6] Ormaechea, aged 40 years old, was also the oldest player ever at the Rugby World Cup finals, in 1999, being the captain in his country first ever presence at the event.

[10] One of the best known fixtures of Uruguayan rugby is the Punta del Este Sevens, which has attracted many of the world's top sides to one of South America's swankiest beach resorts.

During the 1999 Rugby World Cup, the national squad was reported to have been saddened by persistent press questioning about Flight 571, rather than their achievement in reaching it with such a small player base.

[8] The national team, more commonly known as the Los Teros (southern lapwing), represent Uruguay at international level.