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The Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifiers in the Americas have been blown wide open. Canada’s sensational upset win over the USA in St. John’s has changed the script. The USA have gone from the front-runners for the Americas 1 spot to now needing to defeat Canada next weekend by a large margin.
Canada’s victory makes game two an uphill challenge for the Eagles. Canada go into the match with a + 13 differential. The USA must now defeat Canada by 14 or more to win the two-match-series on aggregate.
Both Uruguay and Chile look on with interest. Uruguay went undefeated in the South American section of the Americas RWC 2023 qualifiers. Los Teros will take-on the winner of Canada vs USA on aggregate to determine who goes to RWC 2023 as Americas 1. That team will join France, Italy, New Zealand and Africa 1 (likely Namibia) in Pool A.
Canada’s win over the Eagles was their first since 2013. Since that time, Canada had not only fallen behind both the USA and Uruguay. The previous RWC cycle saw Uruguay qualifying ahead of Canada; doing so after winning the home-and-away series.
The present RWC qualifiers have seen further change. Uruguay narrowly avoided a home loss against Chile. Los Cóndores forwards caused Uruguay a variety of problems. The same forward power now awaits the loser of Canada vs USA. The winner of that series will remain alive while the loser will be eliminated.
Canada now have one foot in the door. The USA will need to rebound immediately and play much better in the return fixture in Colorado. Regardless of the outcome of that game the Americas’ RWC Qualifiers have been blown wide open.
