Tevita Kuridrani and Dane Haylett-Petty guide Australia to 45-10 win over Uruguay
Tevita Kuridrani was named the player of the match
©PA
Australia 45-10 Uruguay, Oita Stadium
Scorecard
Dane Haylett-Petty and Tevita Kuridrani scored doubles as Australia powered to a 45-10 bonus-point victory over Uruguay in their Pool D World Cup encounter at Oita Stadium.
The win has taken the Wallabies to the top of the table with 11 points with a game against Georgia left in the opening round while Uruguay are at the bottom with four points.
Australia had the better of the two exchanges with Kurtley Beale setting the pace and offloaded to Haylett-Petty as the winger dived over the line for the opening try in the fifth minute and Christian Leali'ifano improved to make it 7-0. Uruguay gave a strong response with Nicolas Freitas speeding to the try line but was grabbed by Michael Hooper that was touch high resulting in a penalty. Felipe Berchesi Pisano made no mistake as Uruguay got off the mark in the 13th minute with a three-pointer.
The Wallabies were reduced to 14-men temporarily when Adam Coleman was sin-binned by referee Raynal for contact on the neck but Uruguay failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Instead, it was Australia, who got their second try through debutant Jordan Petaia, who crossed over after grabbing a pass from Beale.
Australia's infringements continued to trouble them with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto yellow-carded in the 29th minute for a high hit on Manuel Ardao but once again it did not hamper their momentum with as Beale and Petaia traded pass to set Kuridrani's first try in the 31st minute as the teams went into the break with a 19-3 scoreline after Tomas Inciarte's try for Uruguay was disallowed after Manuel Diana was adjudged to be off-side on the buildup by the TMO.
Kuridrani got his second try in the 46th minute after a build up from Taniela Tupou and a few minutes later Will Genia crossed over and Leali'ifano converting both meant the Wallabies stretched their lead to 33-3. Close to the hour mark, Genia played another vital role as he offloaded to James Slipper for his first try in 94 Tests. In the 68th minute, Australia's seventh try came through Haylett-Petty as they stretched their tally to 45 points before Diana scored a consolation try for Uruguay in the closing stage.
