Alan Gilpin: ‘The US plan will benefit from the Eagles being in France’

The first thing to do in conversation with Alan Gilpin, chief executive of World Rugby, the day after an extraordinary World Cup play-off is to celebrate Chile, qualifiers for the first time after beating the USA 31-29 in Colorado, 52-51 on aggregate.

“Congratulations to them,” Gilpin says. “They’ve pulled together an incredibly committed, passionate team who believe in each other and were able to really hang in at times against a very good Eagles side.

“I think that’s a tribute to the work that the South American unions have done in their SLAR [Súperliga Americana de Rugby]competition that’s provided them in the last two years the platform to do what we’ve seen across this qualification campaign.”

Los Cóndores put Canada out then sent the Eagles, first beaten by Uruguay, to the brink of missing France next year.

Gilpin says: “To have Uruguay and and Chile qualify is is a huge step forward for South American rugby and a huge step forward for for rugby in Chile and they have an opportunity to inspire a lot more kids to play, which is fantastic.”

Chile will face continental rivals Argentina in Pool D – as well as England, Japan and Samoa.

The next order of business is to consider the impact of Chile’s victory on US rugby. The Eagles won the first qualifier 22-21, in a deluge on a Santiago mud-heap. Most thought they would seal qualification. Gilpin arrived in the Denver suburbs with plenty to do regarding the decision, announced in May, to play the 2031 men’s World Cup and 2033 women’s event on American soil.

Gary Gold’s Eagles were shattered by their last-gasp defeat. So were their followers across America. The US men have only missed one World Cup, South Africa 1995. Thanks to Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela that was