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This past Sunday’s Rugby World Cup qualifier between Spain and Portugal was highly memorable. Los Leones were 33-28 winners in Madrid. In winning the match Spain qualified for RWC 2023. France 2023 will be Spain’s second RWC and first since 1999.
Following the conclusion of the contest there were many comments on social media applauding Spain, Portugal and the rugby played. Was it the best match of 2022 thus far? Was it the greatest qualifying match of all of the RWC 2023 qualifiers? It certainly was a classic Rugby World Cup qualifying match. It is included below along with some other memorable contests.
RWC 2007 QUALIFIERS – PORTUGAL VS RUSSIA
Portugal overcame Russia 26-23 in October 2006 in a qualifying match for RWC 2007. In winning, Os Lobos advanced to round 6 in Europe and eliminated Russia. Portugal then played home-and-away qualifiers against Georgia. The Eastern Europeans won 17-3 in Tbilisi and the teams competed to an 11-11 draw in Lisbon. Georgia thus qualified for RWC 2007 while Portugal lived to fight another day as Os Lobos entered repechage to beat Morocco and Uruguay. Portugal downed Los Teros 23-22 on aggregate to qualify for RWC 2007. Such an outcome would not have been possible had it not been for the win over Russia.
RWC 2011 QUALIFIERS – RUSSIA VS ROMANIA 2010
Russia first played at a Rugby World Cup in 2011. The Bears qualified as Europe 2, doing so ahead of Romania. Russia’s road to the World Cup involved wins over Germany, Portugal, Romania, and Spain in 2009. These results meant the job was half-done. Russia’s quest to qualify for the Rugby World Cup required more strong performances in 2010. They came with Russia again downing Portugal and Spain, though arguably the biggest result was Russia’s home 21-21 draw against Romania. With only Germany left to play the Bears finished above Romania to qualify for RWC 2011.
RWC 2015 QUALIFIERS – MADAGASCAR VS NAMIBIA 2012
Namibia have been the force in Africa’s RWC qualifiers for more than two decades. The Welwitschias qualified for RWCs 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 as Africa 1. Most results were not only wins for the Namibians but wins by impressive scorelines. Namibia have been and continue to be the benchmark for the rest of Africa’s countries competing in RWC qualifiers; yet, the Welwitschias do not have a perfect record. One loss was a match that was one of the greatest games of rugby ever played. As part of the RWC 2015 qualifiers, Madagascar pulled-off a stunning upset in downing Namibia 57-54 in Antananarivo.
RWC 2015 QUALIFIERS – URUGUAY VS RUSSIA 2014
Uruguay first played at a Rugby World Cup in 1999. Los Teros defeated Spain in their debut appearance and defeated Georgia at RWC 2003 in Sydney. The South Americans looked good to qualify for RWC 2007 but were down to 14-men in the deciding match against Portugal in Montevideo. Uruguay then missed out on qualifying for RWC 2011 as Romania won the repechage series. Great effort went into turning around Uruguayan rugby in time for RWC 2015. The hard word brought results as Los Teros overcame Russia to qualify. Game one saw Russia winning 22-21 in Krasnoyasrk, Siberia while it was all celebrations in game two as Uruguay won 36-27 at home in Montevideo.
RWC 2019 QUALIFIERS – URUGUAY VS CANADA 2018
Uruguay’s qualification for RWC 2015 was the start of a golden era for Los Teros. The South American no 2 improved to defeat Canada 38-29 in game one in Vancouver. With the return match to follow, Uruguay were well-placed to qualify for RWC 2019 ahead of Canada. Game two was nothing short of a thriller. The lead switched hands before Uruguay ultimately came out on top to win 32-31. The win gave Uruguay a historic series win over Canada and put the South Americans on course for their ground-breaking win over Fiji in Kamaishi. Canada entered repechage and went on to claim the final place at RWC 2019.
RWC 2023 QUALIFIERS – CHILE VS CANADA 2021
Rugby World Cup 2023 will be the first Men’s RWC without Canada. This is so because of Chile’s vast improvement which involved high performance investments and professionalism. Whether or not Canada knew what they were up against is open to debate. What transpired was Canada won 22-21 at home with a penalty goal with time up. Chile were hosts for the return match in Valparaíso. The fired-up Cóndores had the energy, the game-plan and the players to get the job done. Los Cóndores 33-24 victory marked the first time in which Chile had ever beaten Canada. It wasa highly different outcome to results from the Americas Rugby Championship (2016-2019).
RWC 2023 QUALIFIERS – SPAIN VS PORTUGAL 2022
From heartbreak to felicidad. Four years on from being disqualified for breaching player eligibility laws, Spain overcame the odds to qualify for RWC 2023 as Europe 2. Not only did Los Leones complete a stunning turn-around, but it also saw a team rebounding after having suffered a series of losses in the first half of the qualifiers. Spain fell 25-19 to Georgia, 22-16 to Romania and 43-28 to Portugal in 2021. From there Los Leones needed to win every match until the winner-takes-all clash against Portugal. Spain did so, beating Russia and the Netherlands twice each and then downing Romania 38-21. Spain’s match with Portugal remained and the 33-28 win was a true classic.
