Chile qualifies for first Rugby World Cup after stunning US

Chile pulled off a stunning comeback to qualify for its first Rugby World Cup after beating the United States 31-29 in Colorado on Saturday.

Chile lost the first leg of the Americas qualifying playoff last week in rainy Santiago, 22-21, and had to win by two in the U.S. to qualify.

But within 30 minutes, the Condors were down 19-0. A yellow card to the United States opened some hope and Chile took it.

Despite their scrum being dominated throughout the playoff, Chile won a penalty against the head and Santiago Videla converted the tough kick for the lead with five minutes to go.

Before this series, Chile had lost its previous four matches to the U.S. by an average of 50 points.

Chile goes to the Rugby World Cup in France next year in Pool D with England, Argentina, Japan and Samoa. The Condors open against Japan in Toulouse on Sept. 10, 2023.

The United States has played at every World Cup since 1999 and has one last chance to qualifying at the repechage tournament in November in Dubai beside Portugal, Kenya and Hong Kong.

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