At the Rugby World Cup, Italy upset Uruguay in Nice with a stirring second-half comeback.

During the first half, Uruguay took advantage of two Italian yellow cards to lead 17-7 at the break.

When Uruguay captain Andres Vilaseca was sent to the sin bin, Italy ran in three quick scores to earn a bonus point.

Juan Ignacio Brex and Michele Lamaro all crossed after the break, followed by Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Cannone.

France and Italy both have two wins from two in the group, but Italy is in the lead due to their two bonus points.

The French play Namibia in their third pool game on Thursday, while Italy play third-placed New Zealand on 29 September.

The Uruguayans hoped this match would put them on the path to automatic qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia if they finished in the top three in Pool A.

In their opening loss to France, the South American side scored an impressive penalty try after their maul collapsed illegally in the first half.

Due to that incident, Italy prop Danilo Fischetti joined second row Niccolo Cannone in the sin bin, and Uruguay crossed again through wing Nicolas Freitas.

In the second half, Italy – who have never qualified for the knockout phase despite playing at every Rugby World Cup to date – took control and scored 31 points without reply after a Felipe Etcheverry drop-goal increased their lead to 10 points.

A positive result against the All Blacks and France, who they play in Lyon on 6 October, will determine their future.