Uruguay beat Tonga last night April 13, by 19-12 in their semi final match at the Durban High School ground, Durban, South Africa.

In the same outing last night Samoa beat Italy 24-22 to secure their place in the final for the top position in Division B of the Under-19 IRB Rugby Championship.

On April 17 Tonga will play Italy for the third and the fourth positions in the morning and Samoa and Uruguay will contest for the first and second position in the afternoon.

It will be the second time for Uruguay to contest in the final for Division B.

A report on the Tonga-Uruguay semi final game shows that Tonga had all the chances in the world to beat Uruguay.

IRB report from Durban: -

Uruguay applied good pressure from the start of their match against Tonga and gained the early advantage thanks to a penalty. They scored two further penalties after ill-discipline by the Tongans, which resulted in a yellow card for centre, Saia Fekitoa. Tonga bounced back though a try by Mafileo Piei.

Uruguay received the second yellow card of the game shortly afterwards, thus reducing both teams to 14 men. When both teams returned to full strength, Uruguay applied good pressure and Tonga received another yellow card, this time to Samisoni Masima.

With one man down, Tonga conceded a converted try to Uruguayan centre Santiago Aenille. This gave the Uruguayans a 19-5 advantage at half time.

The Tongans started the second half well with centre, Sione Teaupa going over for an early converted score. This allowed them right back into the game.

Both teams had opportunities to score, but failed to do so due to some excellent defence. Tonga received yet another yellow card, this time to Saia Halatanu.

Uruguay kept the Tongans at bay due to some courageous tackling. The Tongans often lost patience and made errors at crucial times. The Uruguayans managed to hold on and record a well-deserved 19-12 victory.

Score:

Tonga: (12)

Tries: Mafileo Piei, Sione Teaupa

Conversions: Saia Fekitoa

Uruguay: (19)

Tries: Alejandro Algorta

Penalties: Martin Gaminara (4)

Conversions: Martin Gaminara

Quotes:

Captain Tonga Jonathan Sefanaia: "They were a better team than us on the day. They played better and their handling was better. They converted their scoring opportunities, which we didn't do."

Coach Tonga Tu'ivaita Veleni: "We lacked ball control and were unable to round off our opportunities. They deserved to win."

Captain Uruguay Martin Gaminara: "We tackled hard and were more effective when on attack."

Coach Uruguay Cesar Cat: "We tackled hard and used the wind to our advantage in the first half. Our discipline was also good."