Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine said his side, soundly beaten by Wales in their World Cup opener on Sunday, had been inspired by Japan’s historic win over South Africa.
The Springboks fell to a stunning 34-32 defeat by Japan on Saturday in the biggest upset in World Cup history.
“Of course it was an inspiration,” Lemoine said after watching Uruguay lose 54-9 loss to Wales at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
“In the last 20 days, we have been in Japan playing two Tests. We feel we can play at the same level.
“Of course Japan have much better players and a big structure and played to a good level over the last five or six years, but that result inspired all tier two countries. I’m sure about that.”
Lemoine, whose side are ranked 19th in the world and boast just four professional players, added: “Probably this World Cup will be good for tier two countries.
“We have to show to World Rugby that the development programmes work in tier two countries.
“I’m pretty sure Georgia are a good example too,” Lemoine, a former prop with Bristol and Stade Francais, said in reference to Georgia’s 17-10 win over Tonga on Saturday.
Wales captain Sam Warburton praised Uruguay, who led for the opening quarter of an hour before leaking four first-half tries and letting in four more in the second period as Welsh dominance at set-piece shone through.
“They were good,” Warburton said. “One thing we didn’t do this week was underestimate them.
“They wouldn’t have qualified for a World Cup by accident and they played really well,” the flanker added.
“They reminded me a bit of Italy, and I think they’ll do better than a lot of people think.”
– ‘Keep going’ –
Lemoine said he was “proud” of his players’ performance.
“I don’t worry too much about the result because the result is normal at that level,” he explained.
“The main thing for us is to try and improve, and not play only that game. The feeling is positive. It’s the first game in the Millennium Stadium against Wales and for the last 15 years we haven’t played against a tier one country.
“So for that reason, everything we do is a positive thing.”
Uruguay captain Santiago Vilaseca added he had been impressed by his side’s committment.
“We are very prepared to keep going for an 80-minute game and I think we proved it today,” the lock said.
“We are prepared to keep going for 80 minutes against every team — Australia, Fiji and England. I think we are going to be very fit for the second, third and even the last game.”
And he said that there was renewed confidence amongst his team-mates that they could make light of their status as rugby minnows.
“It’s not only about Japan. We believe in ourselves,” Vilaseca said.
“That’s the main point, we said before the game we had a big commitment to show on the pitch what we are made of and what kind of rugby we have. I think we proved it.
“We didn’t care about the result, winning or losing, we care about showing what we are made of and how we have been working over the last four years.
“I think we showed it to the world.”