(Valparaiso) The Canadian rugby team will have to make do with watching the 2023 World Cup on TV. The loss to Chile on Saturday confirms that Canada will miss the event for the first time.
The Chileans had the best result 33-24 on Saturday which saw the South American team win the home-and-away qualifying series 54-46 on aggregate points.
Rank 21NS In the world, Canada was one point ahead of Chile ahead of the weekend’s clash. Canada won the first game 22-21 last Saturday in Langford, British Columbia. A late-game penalty from Robbie Buffy allowed Canada to save itself with the win.
But a week later, nothing seems to be working for the Canadians in the second leg in Valparaíso. After leading 3-0 early in the game, Canada saw Chile replay with 16 points before the break.
Returning from the break, the Canadians tried to strike back, but the Chileans hit back with blows.
“It’s tough,” coach Kingsley Jones said after the loss. The locker room is not a nice place at the moment. It is clear that many players are very upset at the moment. Difficult. ”
“We lost. The Chileans were better than us today. They took their chance,” he continued, before admitting that no one wanted to be part of the Canadian premiere team excluded from the world.
Besides the duel between Canada and Chile, Uruguay defeated the United States 34-15 in Montevideo, allowing “Los Terros” to win the set 50-34 and earn their ticket to the Paris 2023 World Cup.
Thus, Uruguay joins New Zealand, France and Italy in Group A. This is the fifth time that Uruguay has qualified for the World Cup.
Second place remains available for American teams. This will be at stake in a duel between Chile and the United States. The winner will join England, Argentina, Japan and Samoa in Group D.
Furthermore, all is not lost for the team that suffers defeat because there is one last chance to qualify as a drafted team. This is the path Canada took when it qualified for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Canada’s loss to Chile will reduce the team to 23NS global ranking. Shelley for her part will climb to 26NS rank, the highest since February 2018.
On Saturday, the Chileans showed a creative attack as well as blocking the way for the Canadians with a solid defence.
Eric Howard, Andrew Quatrin and Kenoa Lloyd scored attempts for Canada. Peter Nelson scored a penalty kick and two converts.
Rodrigo Fernandez, Matias Detos and Santiago Videla scored attempts for Chile. Videla added four penalties and three converts.
The Canadians will miss the World Cup finals for the first time after nine consecutive qualifying matches since 1987.
This failure will have a major impact on the future of Canadian rugby as qualification for the World Cup involves significant funding from the International Federation.
This is another hit after seeing the women’s rugby team finish at 9NS This summer’s Tokyo Olympics rankings. Our hopes have been high for the team since winning the bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
