History is not on Uruguay's side as they prepare to face USA in the first leg of their Americas Rugby World Cup 2011 qualifier in Montevideo on Saturday, having only won one of their previous 10 meetings with the Eagles.
Ironically that 10-9 win also came in a Rugby World Cup qualifying match in Montevideo back in August 2002, although they had lost the first leg by a bigger margin. They did, though, still make it to RWC 2003 in Australia.
However, their disappointment at losing out to Portugal for the final place at RWC 2007 by a single point on aggregate in the Repechage should be motivation enough to try to address that record against the Eagles.
Uruguay earned their place in this final Americas play-off by comfortably overcoming Brazil (71-3) and Chile (49-3) in the South American Championship in late April and early May, but had to wait two months to learn their opponents.
They turned out to be the Eagles, who saw a slender advantage from the first leg emphatically cancelled out as Canada ran riot in Edmonton to triumph 41-18 and qualify for New Zealand 2011 as Americas 1.
Whoever emerges victorious over the two legs - the second is in Florida on 21 November - will join two-time world champions Australia, Ireland, Italy and the Europe 2 qualifier in Pool C at Rugby World Cup 2011.
The dream will not be over for either side in defeat, but both will be eager to avoid the cross-continental play-off next year, particularly Los Teros after their heart-breaking aggregate loss two and a half years ago.
USA are the highest placed of the two nations in the IRB World Rankings at 18th, two places and four rating points ahead of Uruguay, who returned to the Top 20 as a result of Portugal's 12-9 loss to Namibia in Lisbon last weekend.
A fifth straight win for the Eagles - the most recent a 43-9 success in Salt Lake City last November - will lift them above Georgia, but another big win, allied with a Japanese defeat by Canada on Sunday, could elevate them to 15th.
This would be their highest position for more than two years, although a defeat in Montevideo by more than 15 points would see them slide one, swapping places with Romania, who play Italy A this weekend.
Uruguay will remain 20th regardless of the result, slipping to as little as three tenths above Portugal with a defeat by more than 15 points. A win by a similar margin would still leave them nine tenths behind USA, who would fall one.
The race to qualify for RWC 2011 is also drawing to a conclusion in Africa with Tunisia hosting Namibia at the Stade El Menzah in the first leg to determine the side who will join defending champions South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa in Pool D.
Tunisia have had the edge in encounters on home soil, winning the most recent 24-7 in July 2006, although they are the lower ranked side of the African rivals at 28th to Namibia's position of 23rd.
Another victory in Tunis will elevate them to 26th - taking them above Ukraine and Germany - and see Namibia return to 25th, losing the two places they gained by beating Portugal last weekend.
By contrast defeat will see Tunisia slide two or three places, depending on the margin and the outcome of the Czech Republic's European Nations Cup encounter in Moldova. Namibia will climb one, swapping places with Spain on the back of a win.
Vital weekend for Czech hopes
The weekend's other match forming part of the global qualifying process for Rugby World Cup 2011 takes place in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, with victory an absolute must for the Czech Republic to keep their dream alive.
The Czech Republic currently lie fourth in Division 2A of the European Nations Cup, but could still top the standings and earn a play-off against Lithuania in May with the winner to play the third placed side in the top tier for a place in the cross-continental play-off.
If they get this victory then the Czechs will improve their 33rd position in the rankings by two or three spots with Moldova remaining 43rd, albeit potentially only a tenth above the Arabian Gulf with a loss by more than 15 points.
However, if Moldova can avenge the 11-9 loss they suffered in Prague last November, then they will climb a minimum of four places and condemn the Czech Republic to a three place fall.
Click here to discover how the weekend's other internationals across Europe and in Japan can impact the IRB World Rankings, which update every Monday at 12:00 UK time.
