England´s second tier national side put in a first rate effort to beat the Uruguay national side 29-9 in Montevideo on Saturday.
Engand Counties became the third international side to play at the British School in Montevideo, Uruguay and like the South African Gazelles in the 1960s and Argentina seven years ago they too took the honours.
It may not be their first win over a national side, the inaugral team beat Chile, but it is the amateur side´s greatest achievement since it was launched in 2002 to give players outside the premiership the chance to represent their country at senior level.
"Tonight was our toughest game ever," said coach Paul Westgate. "The players stuck to the game plan, kept them under pressure and scored some good tries. The team absolutely deserved the win and I´m proud of them. Tonight was a fitting end to a fantastic tour."
The soggy winter conditions did not suit their usual ambitious 15 man rugby but the Counties team adapted well. This time the cross field chip that so nearly brought them a score against Rosario landed perfectly for Matt Jess who crossed in the left corner to put England up 5-0 after only nine minutes.
Although Uruguay hit back with two penalties, England dogged out the next half hour until their next chance came. When local prop Federico Capo was sin binned, they opted for the line out and drove the resulting maul over the line for their second try to inch them 10-6 ahead before the break.
In the second period, with both teams down to 14 men, Uruguay narrowed the gap to a single point. But when England were awarded a penalty close to the try line again their driving maul proved unstoppable and this time it was Otley and Northumberland´s number 8 Ed Thorpe rather than hooker Cooper who crashed over.
The home team managed to hold up their third effort 10 minutes later, but it was only temporary and the visitors crossed again from the reset scrum, which fly half Hughes converted to extend their lead to 22-9.
With a comfortable lead, England contained the opposition with a series of corner punts until Nottingham´s left wing Chris Wyles spotted a gap and offloaded to Jess who dived over in the corner. Replacement 10 Ollie Thomas just had time to put the icing on the cake with a touchline conversion before the referee blew time on a memorable Counties victory.
England Counties v Uruguay
15. Ben Thompson (Nottingham & Oxfordshire)
14. Matt Jess (Penzance and Newlyn & Cornwall)
13. Chris Malherbe (Wharfedale & Yorkshire)
12. Lee Blackett (Rotherham & Yorkshire)
11. Chris Wyles (Nottingham & Notts, Lincs & Derby)
10. Duncan Hughes (Stourbridge & North Midlands)
9. Andy Brown (Otley & Yorkshire)
1. Rob Faulkner (Newbury & Somerset)
2. Glenn Cooper (Newbury & Somerset)
3. Matthew Long (Pertemps Bees & Gloucestershire)
4. Paul Arnold (Orrell & Lancashire)
5. Nick Rouse (Plymouth Albion & Devon)
6. Craig Hammond (Nottingham & Notts, Lincs & Derby) captain
7. Dave Wilks (Orrell & Lancashire)
8. Ed Thorpe (Otley & Northumberland)
Replacements
16. Chris Bentley (Exeter & Cheshire) (for Arnold, 56 mins)
17. Isaac Richmond (Manchester & Cheshire) (for Blackett, 72 mins)
18. James Ponton (Sedgley Park & Northumberland) (for Thorpe, 56 mins)
19. David McCormack (Sedgley Park & Lancashire) (for Brown, 72 mins)
20. Ollie Thomas (Moseley & North Midlands) (for Hughes, 66 mins)
21. Paul Price (Lydney & Gloucestershire) (for Faulkner, 56 mins)
22. Dan Parkes (Plymouth Albion, Royal Navy & Devon) (for Long, 56 mins)
23. Stewart Pearl (Plymouth Albion & Devon) (for Cooper, 69 mins)
England Counties results and fixtures
England Counties 10 - 36 Argentina XV (Jun 12, Santa Fe, 3pm local time)
England Counties 38 - 0 Rosario (Jun 15, Club Atletico del Rosario, 7pm)
Engand Counties 29 - 9 Uruguay (Jun 18, British School, Montevideo, 2pm)