Last second penalty kick gives Canada win over Chile

A penalty goal from Robbie Povey with time expired gave Canada a desperate 22-21 win over Chile in the first leg of their World Cup Qualifying series in Langford on Saturday. The result sets up a winner-take-all match in Valparaiso next week with the loser dropping out of contention to play at France 2023.

It was a discordant contest from the get-go, with a high level of anxiety shared by the officials, players, and spectators. Some crunching hits were exchanged early and it wasn’t until the 22nd minute when the first scoring opportunity presented itself.

Santiago Videla landed a penalty goal to put the Cóndores on the board first. He would have another crack soon after from just inside his own half, but it was a poor strike and fell short of the uprights.

Videla found his range on his third attempt before Canada got into the game just a few minutes before the break. Corey Thomas charged through a tackle and into the challenge of Domingo Saavedra. The referee initially indicated a try but then called for a TMO review. Though the replay showed no clear grounding, the on-field decision stood and five points were awarded.

The angle of the conversion was favorable to the left-footed Peter Nelson but he pushed the ball wide to leave Chile in the lead. It was stretched to four points by a third Videla penalty on the stroke of halftime. The two sides left the pitch with harsh words awaiting the home side in the locker room.

Whatever was said seemed to spur on the men in red to start the second half. A mistake by Chile handed Canada an attacking lineout. The drive was stalled but Ross Braude sniped around the corner and made it over the line for a try. This time Nelson was on song and Canada took the lead.

It was Braude again who would score just five minutes later. Spencer Jones chipped ahead to put the Chileans under pressure and it resulted in a 5-meter scrum. Siaki Vikilani tore off the back and was stopped short, but his scrumhalf was there in close support to take it the rest of the way. Nelson chipped over the extras to make it a 10-point game.

An unlucky yellow card to Tyler Rowland for making contact with an airborne Nicolás Garafulic gave Chile just what they needed to bounce back. The kick to the corner was inch-perfect and the lineout drive worked as ordered with Clemente Saavedra getting the credit for the score. Videla’s kick was wayward, however, to leave it 19-14.

Replacement prop Javier Carrasco would receive a yellow after collapsing a Canadian maul, but a turnover at the breakdown put a halt to Canada’s attack. Instead it was a shorthanded Chileans who scored next. A trick play at the lineout went to Matias Garafulic on the short side, and Saavedra powered over for a double. Videla was accurate to put the Cóndores back up by two.

With the clock ticking down there would be several dramatic changes of possession. Canada turned down a penalty in front of the posts in favor of a scrum but they couldn’t find the line. Another attack was foiled at the breakdown and with only seconds remaining it appeared that Chile would have their upset.

Instead of kicking to the lineout, however, the Cóndores opted to tap and go in their own end. The referee penalised them for sealing off at the breakdown and left Povey with a routine kick for the win. He made good to save the result for Canada, but it will be a nervous week ahead for the Canadians knowing a stern challenge awaits next Saturday.

 

SCORING

CANADA 22
Tries – C. Thomas (34′), R. Braude 2 (44′, 49′)
Cons – P. Nelson 2/3 (45′, 50′)
Pens – R. Povey 1/1 (80′)
Yellow cards – T. Rowland (51′)

CHILE 21
Tries – C. Saavedra (52′, 66′)
Cons – S. Videla 1/2 (67′)
Pens – S. Videla 3/4 (22′, 31′, 40′)
Yellow cards – J. Carrasco (59′)

 

TEAMS

CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Cole Keith 66′), 2 Eric Howard (16 Andrew Quattrin 66′), 3 Tyler Rowland (18 Jake Ilnicki 66′), 4 Corey Thomas, 5 Kyle Baillie (19 Conor Keys 67′), 6 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Peter Nelson (22 Robbie Povey 66′), 11 Kainoa Lloyd, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Brock Webster, 15 Cooper Coats

Not used: 20 Michael Smith, 21 Jason Higgins, 23 Patrick Parfrey

CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra (17 Javier Carrasco 50′), 2 Augusto Böhme (16 Tomás Dussaillant 50′), 3 Matías Dittus (18 Salvador Lues 69′), 4 Clemente Saavedra, 5 Javier Eissmann (19 Augusto Sarmiento 69′), 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba (23 Nicolás Herreros 63′), 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Franco Velarde, 12 Matías Garafulic, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Nicolás Garafulic (22 Iñaki Ayarza 60′), 15 Santiago Videla

Not used: 20 Santiago Pedrero, 21 Thomas Orchard

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistants: Sean Gallagher (Ireland) & Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)