KUMAGAYA – Uruguay will seek to implement a new game plan against Australia and Wales in order to keep their Rugby World Cup dream alive after being comprehensively mauled by Georgia's forwards during their Pool D clash on Sunday, according to captain Juan Manuel Gaminara.
The Georgians, fielding a pack that was more than 80kg heavier in total than Uruguay's, dominated the forward exchanges and drew the South Americans into a protracted physical battle up front, pinning them in their own half for much of the game to record a bonus-point 33-7 victory in Kumagaya.
"We played under extreme pressure for a long time," Gaminara said. "Being constantly under pressure and deep in our own half, that wears (you out) more.
"We came to qualify directly for the next World Cup. That was the main objective. Today we could not win, but it does not frustrate us. We keep looking forward.
"The two remaining matches deserve a new plan."
Los Teros produced a massive upset when they beat Fiji four days ago but will have to pull off another major shock - or pick up some bonus points - to have a chance of finishing third in the Pool. They next face Australia in Oita on Oct. 5 and then finish against Wales in Kumamoto on Oct. 13.
They are likely to be without hooker Facundo Gattas, however, after he was sent off for a high, no-arms tackle with about three minutes remaining on Sunday.
He became the second player to be sent off at the tournament after United States flanker John Quill received a red card for a shoulder charge to the head of England's Owen Farrell on Thursday.
Georgia moved to five points in Pool D, ahead of Uruguay (four) and Fiji (two) in the race for third place in the pool.
Georgia coach Milton Haig admitted that he had put his players under psychological pressure before the game against Uruguay, telling them it would decide whether their efforts over the previous four years had been worth it.
"It wasn't gung-ho, it was reality," Haig said. "It was stating facts - we were at a tipping point.
"If we go away from it with a loss, everything that we worked at for so long would have gone down the tubes.
"Whether it put pressure on the players - I'm pretty sure that it did - but that was the reaction I wanted.
"When you are under pressure, it depends how you use it. You use it as motivation or you use it as a hindrance and I wanted to see how the boys responded and thought they responded pretty well."