Uruguay revel in moment of glory

Uruguay's rugby men slogged their way to victory against their fellow big-hearted makeweights from Georgia here tonight amid such scenes of enthusiasm that they must have felt they'd just won their own World Cup final.

Incredibly, a crowd of 28,576 at the Aussie Stadium cheered a game which, had it been staged in either Montevideo or Tbilisi, would have attracted neither the one man nor the dog. After the millionth spectator went through the World Cup turnstiles yesterday, this was again an extraordinary demonstration of Australia's fantastic support for the event.

Next stop for Uruguay will be England in Brisbane on Sunday but Los Teros will not care what dreadful fate awaits them - with the best will in the world, they are not Samoa - now that they have won the game that really mattered to them with three tries, fashioned mainly through their forwards' greater nous, from Alfonso Cardoso, Diego Lamelas and a late clincher from Nicolas Brignoni. It wasn't pretty but it epitomised the underdogs' spirit

The splendid Georgians, urged on by the cult following they have gained here for their colourful, committed presence, were just a bit too raw and limited to breach the South American line and were always on the back foot after winger Cardoso shot over unopposed in the 23rd minute.

Still, they maintained enough big-hitting pressure to stay within striking distance until the dying minutes and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation they received at the whistle.