Full-back Baltazar Amaya scored a brace of tries as Uruguay kept their faint Rugby World Cup quarter-final hopes alive with a bonus-point 36-26 victory over ill-disciplined Namibia on Wednesday, September 27.
Namibia led 20-12 at half-time but paid for their indiscipline in the second half as prop Johan Coetzee and captain Tjiuee Uanivi were yellow-carded, while replacement prop Desiderius Sethie saw red. Uruguay could still make the knock-out stages after their first win in three Pool A matches, but it would take a highly improbable victory over New Zealand next week.
For Namibia, their long wait for a first World Cup win goes on after a 26th straight defeat across seven editions. The build-up to this match had not been good for the Africans. Their three previous matches had been chastening experiences, shipping 219 points and scoring only 11. That included a bruising 96-0 defeat to hosts France.
Uruguay, by contrast, had earned plaudits and new fans for their enterprising displays against France and Italy, staying well in contention in both matches deep into the second half, before losing 27-10 and 38-17. Namibia was also without eight players, mostly through injury.
But captain Johan Deysel was suspended for the head clash that broke France captain Antoine Dupont's cheekbone, while back-row forward Johan Retief was ruled out after he developed an infection from being bitten by a spider.