Loose Pass: Unpacking Chile’s win over USA that booked Rugby World Cup ticket and that Andrew Porter decision in New Zealand

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with the big results, big calls and things to ponder…

It wasn’t just the result, it was the manner in which they got it. Away from home, against a ferocious onslaught from the home side and a partisan crowd, the team dug in and produced the moments of quality when it counted, never giving up, always staying focused, until finally, they got over the line.

Ireland? No – well, yes, obviously, but assuming you have not been holidaying on Mars to escape the heat/pandemic/economic crisis this past weekend, you would have known about Ireland already.

No, this refers to Chile, whose 31-29 win over the USA in Colorado on Saturday took Los Condores to their first Rugby World Cup – setting themselves up a fun-looking derby with Argentina in Pool D along with it.

Chile trailed for 154 of the 160 minutes of the play-off. The atrocious conditions in Santiago last week had been a great leveller and played very much into the USA forward pack’s hands in the 22-21 defeat. But Chile had two major weapons in the boot of left wing Santiago Videla and the indomitable running of fly-half Rodrigo Fernandez, whose try in the first match was surely a contender for world try of the year. The combination of both meant that the team stayed in touch, before Videla’s nerveless 40 metre penalty six minutes from time in Glendale sealed the deal.

The effects of the bulk of the team competing together in the Superliga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) also looked to make themselves felt in both games, which Chile finished much stronger both times. USA coach Gary Gold, who has had to put up with unimagineable disruptions during preparations, said as much at the end: “It would be amazing if we could just spend a