Joaquin Prada, Alejo Corral and Agustín Ormaechea crossed the try line in 10 second half minutes, while Felipe Berchesi starred with the boot as the hosts sealed a memorable 36-27 win in front of 14,000 ecstatic fans at the Charrúa Stadium in the Uruguayan capital, to run out 57-49 winners on aggregate.

Russia arrived in Montevideo with a slender 22-21 lead from the first leg of the final play-off in Krasnoyarsk on September 27 and did not looked fazed by the vociferous home support as they made it to half-time with a 17-12 advantage.

A quickly taken tap penalty late in the first period saw Aleksandr Ianushkin sneak over the line for the Russians to give them a five-point cushion after Berchesi and Yury Kushnarev had matched each other with four penalties apiece.

But just minutes into the second-half came what surely must be the most decisive 10 minutes in Uruguayan rugby history as the hosts hit the shell-shocked Russians with three quick-fire tries, all converted by Berchesi, to put them 33-20 ahead and crucially 12 points clear on aggregate.

Joaquin Prada crossed the line for the first of three crucial tries for Uruguay as they beat Russia to claim the final place at Rugby World Cup 2015 ©AFP/Getty Images



Despite losing Denis Simplikevich to a yellow card after he was penalised for a dangerous tackle, Russia's Vasily Artemyev powered over the line for a converted try to set up a grandstand finish.

With tensions running high both on the pitch and in the stands, where Uruguayan President José Mujica was a more than interested onlooker, Berchesi stepped forward once again to prove his coolness under pressure.

The fly-half kicked a nerveless penalty in injury-time to seal the win and Uruguay's qualification for Rugby World Cup 2015.

An ecstatic Uruguay head coach Pablo Lemoine said afterwards: "We qualified for the Rugby World Cup because we wanted it more,

"We deserve it for all the hard work we put in in the last four years and because on the day we managed to understand what was required to win.

"This is a huge day in our rugby history and one that we must enjoy knowing that from now on the hard work will be with a clear goal, to enjoy the World Cup."

Felipe Berchesi was the coolest man inside the Charrúa Stadium as he kicked 21 points for Uruguay ©AFP/Getty Images



Try-scorer Ormaechea added: "We will go to England 2015 to enjoy what is the biggest tournament in the world.

"We have dreamt about this for ages and now that we have finally achieved the qualification it is an unbelievable feeling."

After appearing at the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 1999 in England and again at the 2003 edition in Australia, Uruguay take their place alongside hosts and 2003 champions England, two-time winners Australia, Wales and Fiji in Pool A at next year's tournament.

Uruguay were the last of 20 teams to confirm their place at the Rugby World Cup 2015, which will see 48 matches take place across England and Wales from September 18 to October 31 next year.

Two-time champions South Africa headline Pool B and are joined by Samoa, Scotland, Japan and the United States.

Reigning champions New Zealand will take on Argentina, Tonga, Georgia and Namibia in Pool C while France, Ireland, Italy, Canada and Romania make up Pool D.

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