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Rodrigo Fernández has done something that no Chilean has done before him – win a prestigious World Rugby award. Fernández won the World Rugby Men’s Try of the Year award for 2022.
Fernández has scored some vital tries for Chile. He has also had his hand in making tries for teammates. His score against the USA in Santiago in July. The remarkable try saw Fernández receiving a kick ahead from which he proceeded to weave his way through the entire Eagles team for a sensational individual try.
"It was a huge surprise to be nominated. I never expected this…"@chilerugby's Rodrigo Fernandez takes away the @IntRugbyPlayers' Men's Try of the Year award for his astonishing solo effort against the USA#WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/4FRokKOgXS
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 20, 2022
The Try was not in a winning effort. Chile lost 22-21. This set-up the deciding match seven days later in Denver, Colorado. The USA were favorites to win for based on multiple factors. Unlike Chile, the Eagles had experience in late stages of World Cup qualifiers. The USA had played at eight World Cups while Chile never had qualified. Chile had newcomers to this level. The USA had beaten Scotland in the past World Cup cycle and had been beating Chile by 70 points during this period.
Chile’s successful qualification for Rugby World Cup 2023 sent the USA to repechage. The Eagles had to win the tournament against Hong Kong, Kenya and Portugal. They were unable to do so. The result is that the USA miss out on playing at the World Cup while South America have a record three competitors.
The USA were not eliminated with defeat; it was a draw. Portugal and the USA competed to a draw in Dubai. The aggregate from their respective matches against Hong Kong and Kenya was the decisive point in why Portugal will play at the World Cup and the USA will not.
Had the USA been able to perform better at home against Chile then perhaps everything would have been different. Fernández was a big part of the USA’s shock loss to Chile in Denver. Los Cóndores completed a sensational 31-29 upset with Fernández making the plays from fly half.
Would Chile have been able to pull off the upset without try against the USA? Technically no based on the one point separating the teams at the competition of the first match and the two points at the completion of the second. Moreover, the try was part of what gave Chile the confidence to play as they did and make history.
A try heard across an entire nation.
Chile's Rodrigo Fernandez's stunning try en route to qualifying for next year's @RugbyWorldCup is named @IntRugbyPlayers Men's Try of the Year 🇨🇱#WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/z6EjVoaGsf
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 20, 2022
