MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - Uruguay qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan when it beat Canada 32-31 to advance 10-point winners on aggregate on Saturday.
Uruguay won the first leg of the Americas playoff 38-29 in Vancouver a week ago.
At its fourth Rugby World Cup, the Teros will go in Pool D with Australia, Wales, Georgia, and Fiji.
Canada, which has never missed a Rugby World Cup, has a last chance to qualify through a repechage tournament in November.
As in Vancouver where Uruguay won from 10 points down in the first half, it had to pull off another comeback in the second leg.
Canada started off 15-0 in Montevideo and led 18-10 at halftime.
Uruguay didn’t get ahead until the 64th minute, when inside center Andres Vilaseca hacked a dropped pass by the Canadians and scooped and scored in a 40-meter move.
Canada replied with a try to replacement prop Djustice Sears-Duru in a rolling maul, but the one-point lead lasted only five minutes.
Vilaseca pounced on another loose pass to run in another converted try untouched from 30 meters out.
With time up, Canada scored long-range from the last lineout, leading try-scorer DTH van der Merwe finishing the match as he started it with a try. He has 31 in 49 tests.
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