How did Pablo Lemoine, Chile’s head coach, react when they were drawn with Australia and New Zealand for the 2027 Rugby World Cup? The answer is perceptive and somewhat surprising.
“When countries like Chile play in a World Cup, you need a general vision,” he says. “Thinking only of sport it’s fantastic, it’s awesome. But thinking of the real impact Chile needs: development programmes, political impact, social impact … for our fans, it’s much more difficult to find tickets when you play the All Blacks or Australia.”
