In the second game of a Churchill Cup Rugby doubleheader at Glendale’s Infinity Park Wednesday, France had a more difficulty handling a less experienced Uruguayan side than most expected, but the French eventually found their game late in the first half and went on to defeat Uruguay 43-10.
Despite intense French pressure deep in their territory, the Uruguayans managed to stave off the French onslaught for over thirteen minutes with hard tackling that frustrated the French throughout the half.
| 2010 Churchill Cup - Pools | ||
| Saturday June 5 Infinity Park | ||
| Pool A | Canada | 48 |
| Uruguay | 6 | |
| Pool B | United States | 39 |
| Russia | 22 | |
| Wednesday June 9 Infinity Park | ||
| Pool A | England Saxons | 49 |
| Russia | 17 | |
| Pool B | France | 43 |
| Uruguay | 10 | |
| Sunday June 13 Infinity Park | ||
| Pool A | England Saxons | |
| 1:00 PM | United States | |
| Pool B | France | |
| 3:30 PM | Canada | |
| 2010 Churchill Cup - Finals | ||
| June 19 Red Bull Arena | ||
| 3rd | Russia | |
| Uruguay | ||
| 2nd | TBA | |
| TBA | ||
| 1st | TBA | |
| TBA | ||
The French finally scored 14 minutes with a try (converted) by Hooker, Benjamin Schuster, and the French went on to add eighteen additional first-half points. Uruguay’s only scoring opportunity of the half came from of two penalty kicks. The first kick sailed wide, and the second split the uprights to put Uruguay’s only points of the half on the board. France took a 24-3 lead into the half.
In the second half, Uruguay continued to keep the French flat until Henry Chavancy slipped through the Uruguayan defense at midfield and scampered the distance for the half’s first try (converted). As the heat took its toll on both defenses, the French took command of the scoring by adding three additional tries.
In the waning moments of the game, Uruguay pressed deep into French territory, and scored their first try (converted) of the tournament. That was how it ended with the score 43-10.
France will meet Canada in their second and final pool match at Infinity Park Saturday. Canada is 1-0 in round-robin play with a dominating 48-6 performance over Uruguay last Saturday (see story). The winner of this Saturday’s game between France and Canada advances to the Cup Final at Red Bull Arena to face either England or the United States when the finals begin on June 19.
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About Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup is named for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Established in 2003, the alliance between the English Rugby Football Union (RFU), Rugby Canada, and USA Rugby was created to help develop the sport in North America following a successful tour of the continent by the English National Team in 2001.
The Churchill Cup has traditionally been a traveling tournament with matches held in multiple cities, but the loss of a major sponsor, Barclays, prompted the Alliance to entertain the idea of a consolidating the tournament to one city. In 2009, the Alliance selected Denver since the city is considered an enthusiastic sports town with a growing appetite for rugby.
USA Rugby’s CEO & President of Rugby Operations Nigel Melville is hopeful that one day Denver will become the tournament’s permanent home.
Ticket Information:
Tickets for all pool matches are available at the Infinity Park Box Office.
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