Portugal qualify for Rugby World Cup 2023

Portugal have qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup to be played in France following a 16-16 draw in the deciding encounter of the Final Qualification Tournament against USA.

Despite a draw, the Os Lobos have progressed to the showpiece event for the second time ever due to a superior point difference in the competition. For the USA, this is the second time they have missed out on the qualification to the World Cup after 1995.

USA took the lead early as AJ MacGinty landed a penalty goal in the third minute to give them a three-point lead but they lost winger Nate Augsperger to sin-bin for a dangerous tackle on Nuno Sousa Guedes. With the numerical advantage on their side, Portugal scored the opening try through Raffaele Storti after grabbing a pass from Nuno Sousa Guedes. Samuel Marques kicked the conversion to make it 7-3.

Portugal were also punished for their indiscipline as José Lima was yellow carded in the 21st minute and MacGinty landed a penalty goal to narrow down the gap to one point but he missed another three-pointer around the half-hour mark that would have given USA the lead.

MacGinty rediscovered his range on the stroke of half-time, however, responding to an earlier successful Marques penalty to make the score 10-9 in Os Lobos’ favour at the break.

Marques restored Portugal’s four-point lead 10 minutes into the second half, although it came in between two missed kicks that would have stretched their advantage further.

USA clawed their way into lead for the first time as Kapeli Pifeleti Jr. dived from close range close to the hour-mark and MacGinty's conversion made it 13-16. Despite losing Francisco Fernandes to yellow card, all Portugal needed was a draw to progress and Marques landed the final kick of the match to steer his team through.

"It's hard to explain, it's one of the best feelings in the world," Portugal captain Tomás Appleton said.

"For the rugby community this is amazing, we've been missing [from Rugby World Cup] for quite some time and we need a new generation to inspire the kids."

Meanwhile, the US captain MacGinty expressed disappointment with the result but credited Portugal for their resilience.

“We gave our best shot and credit to Portugal for battling back there,” he said. “I’m really proud of the squad, the group, all the coaches who put so much into putting us into the best position for this, and it was almost there.”