WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Chile will play at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia after beating Samoa 31-12 Saturday in the second match of a two-leg qualifying playoff.
The teams drew 32-32 in the first leg in Salt Lake City last weekend and with Saturday’s victory Chile becomes the 23rd team to qualify for the World Cup, winning by 19 points on aggregate.
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Samoa still has a chance to claim the final place in Australia through a four-team repechage in Dubai in November involving Belgium, Namibia and either Brazil or Paraguay.
Chile will be playing at a World Cup for the second consecutive time after qualifying for the tournament in France in 2023. On that occasion, Chile beat the United States by one point on aggregate in a two-leg qualifier.
On Saturday, 20th-ranked Chile opened an 18-0 lead with tries to scrumhalf Benjamin Videla and fullback Inaki Ayarza. Samoa, ranked No. 15, scored through Melani Nanai to make the score 18-7 at halftime and closed to 18-12 after 61 minutes with a try to Jonah Mau’u.
Chile extended its lead with penalties to Santiago Videla before sealing the match in the 78th minute with a try to winger Nicolas Saab.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
