Focus on France 2023, the meeting that will make the Condors World Cup

France will be the capital of rugby for 50 days. The 20 best teams in the world will host the World Cup a competition which after nine editions has been won by only four nations: New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England.

The tournament will also have only one rookie country in this version: Chile. Pablo Lemoine’s team managed to qualify after a historic victory against the United States.

In the group stage, the Cóndores will face four historical countries on the oval. The first of them, Japan, a great power in Asia, participating in all editions of the tournament and organizer of the last one. They arrive as the 14th best team and with Kotaro Matsushima as the big star.

After the duel against the Japanese in Toulouse, it will be the turn of Samoa, an extremely physical team, which, although world famous for the Seven is a fixed name in all the planetary rendezvous of the XV.

The last two dishes of the group stage will be England and Argentina, duels which, by their context, their names and their scenarios, will become the most important in the history of Chilean rugby. “La Rosa” is the team that has won the Six Nations Tournament the most times (29 occasions), was World Cup champion in 2003 and runners-up three times, the last being in Japan in 2019 . They are among the big favorites to win the title and Owen Farrell, their biggest reference, will return to the pitch with the Chileans, after a four-round suspension by World Rugby.

They will play the last duel of the group stage against Pumas and a precedent will be set for rugby in the region, since never in the history of the tournament have two South American teams faced each other. Furthermore, It will be the first time since 1999 that two Spanish-speaking countries meet at a World Cup. A great test against a team that was third in 2007, fourth in 2015 and has played in all editions.

The Condors call for calm. Pablo Lemoine repeated it many times: “There are things that have an order and we can’t change it or anyone else. You have to understand where Chile is, its team, its league, its structure and its development”.

An honest but necessary sentence. Participating in a World Cup is something without precedent, it is not for nothing that there had not been a country starting out since Russia achieved it in 2011. Winning seems like a near impossible task. Namibia, 22nd in the world, has played the last six editions and still hasn’t managed to hang on. Japan, quarter-finalists in 2019, have won only one game in the first seven World Cups they have played.

And it is that for the Condors, France 2023 is the gateway to the elite. This will be the first time they will face Tier 1 teams, the name used to bring together the best nations on the planet. In fact, under the current format of World Rugby, These teams only play with each other and if Chile wants to face a team from this category again, their only chance will be to qualify for the 2027 World Cup. Currently, Chile is in level 2.

This is why it is so difficult to balance the forces. The big powers are playing more and better Test matches, reinforcing each other and widening a gap that very few teams have managed to close for decades.

Far from the Chilean reality, less than a dozen teams will arrive in France with a real chance of trying for the crown won by South Africa in 2019.

Alongside the current champions, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, England and Argentina will be in contention. Selections with a history and a present, which have long dominated international rugby.

But if the list is to be narrowed down to just two countries, the locals and Ireland emerge as the favourites. It would be a significant milestone, since neither has won the Webb Ellis Trophy.

El Trébol appears in first place in the world rankings, is the current champion of the Six Nations and will also count in its ranks Josh van der Flier, the best player on the planet in 2022 and legend Johnny Sexton, who at 38 will play his fourth World Cup.

The locals are no exception and, despite their third place on the planetary list, they arrive at their tournament with a practically perfect performance. They have 14 home wins in a row and will feature Antoine Dupont, a scrum-half who won the best of the year award in 2021 and was chosen as the Six Nations best player three times.

The other names that will animate the World Cup will be New Zealanders Ardie Savea, Richie Mo’unga and Will Jordan, as well as South Africans Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth. Scotland’s Finn Russell, Wales’ Josh Adams and Pumas’ Julián Montoya will surely shine in France too.