The South American side will take great heart, however, despite their defeat in front of 12,000 hardy souls in Krasnoyarsk, as they remain right in contention to seal the final spot at next year's showpiece event when they host the return leg in Montevideo on October 11.

The home side had the better of the attacking play over the 80 minutes, but were continually frustrated by a tigerish Uruguayan defence allied to some sloppy handling, while two yellow cards indicated a lack of discipline which did not please head coach Raphael Saint-Andre.

"We need to improve our discipline," said the Frenchman afterwards.

"We had two yellow cards today that cost us a lot.

"In the second half we had too many penalties against.

"It is why they came back into the game.

"So with a bit more discipline, we have got a chance in Montevideo."

That indiscipline was punished by Uruguayan fly-half Felipe Berchesi, who landed seven penalties and was just the width of a post from securing victory for the visitors with an effort from 35 metres just flying past the wrong side of the upright in the dying moments of the game.

Berchesi's opposite number Yuri Kushnarev was in equally accurate form from the tee for Russia, landing three penalties and a conversion to give the hosts a 16-12 lead at the break.

Yuri Kushnarev kicked the vital points to ensure Russia emerged with a slender win in Krasnoyarsk ©Getty Images



The Russian try came following a break from centre Dmitri Gerasimov deep into Uruguayan territory, before scrum-half Alexander Ianushkin recycled quickly and fed loose-head prop Grigory Tsobiladze who powered over from close range.

Russia continued to look the more likely to cross the whitewash again in the second period, but never managed to convert that domination into points while Uruguay's scrum and maul worked well.

Kushnarev tagged on two more penalties, the second of which was the deciding score on 66 minutes to give the hosts the slenderest of wins.

Saint-Andre and his squad will now make the near 17,000 kilometre trek to the Uruguayan capital as Russia looks to secure a place at its second successive Rugby World Cup after debuting in New Zealand in 2011.

"We are not afraid," said Saint-Andre.

"We know it is going to be very hard in Montevideo.

"The Uruguay welcome is very famous and we will try to give our best there in a game between two close teams."

Uruguay are chasing a third Rugby World Cup appearance following on from England in 1999 and Australia in 2003.

Uruguayan players will be looking to make home advantage count as they take on Russia in Montevideo in the return leg next month ©AFP/Getty Images



Head coach Pablo Lemoine was relatively satisfied with his side's performance and is hoping the vociferous backing from the home crowd in Montevideo will help get Uruguay over the line.

"It was a close game," said Lemoine.

"We made some mistakes when we had two more players on the field which probably cost us the game.

"It was a classic game between the sides ranked 19th and 20th in the IRB (International Rugby Board) rankings.

"I feel we were comfortable.

"We respected our strategy and although we made some mistakes when we kicked I felt our pack was really strong and dominant.

"We have to be more patient but we are happy with the result.

"We never like to lose but we know in Uruguay that the ambiance will not be the same.

"The stadium will have 12,000 there who will really be pushing behind our team."

The winners between Russia and Uruguay will secure the final place at Rugby World Cup 2015 and will be placed in Pool A alongside hosts and 2003 champions England, two-time winners Australia, Wales and Fiji.

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