How did Pablo Lemoine, Chile\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen countries like Chile play in a World Cup you need a general vision,\u201d Lemoine says. \u201cThinking only of sport it\u2019s fantastic \u2013 it\u2019s awesome. But thinking of the real impact Chile needs: development programmes, political impact, social impact \u2026 for our fans, it\u2019s much more difficult to find tickets when you play the All Blacks or Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking on Zoom from Chile\u2019s Parque Mahuida training base in Santiago, the 50-year-old sits in front of a whiteboard crammed with densely packed handwritten text, neatly illustrating his attention to detail. He explains they are situated 1,000m above sea level, so no local internet provider is willing to install a fibre connection. \u201cNow we\u2019re trying Elon Musk internet,\u201d Lemoine says.<\/p>\n
Mercifully the connection holds. The former Uruguay prop, who played for Bristol and Stade Fran\u00e7ais at the dawn of the professional era, has steered Chile to a second straight Rugby World Cup after their 2023 debut in France<\/a>. In 2027 the enlarged format will mean pools of four rather than five and Los C\u00f3ndores will naturally target victory against debutants Hong Kong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a chance to win our first [tournament] game,\u201d says Lemoine. \u201cHong Kong have the same chance. It will be huge. We will try to qualify for the next stage, but it will be difficult to find bonus points against Australia and New Zealand. Our final is Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemoine praises the new format that gives Tier 2 nations more hope: four third-placed teams will qualify for the last 16. The Hong Kong encounter is likely to be hard-fought: when they met in Talca last year it finished 22-17 to the hosts. \u201cTo have a chance to qualify by winning one game \u2026 half a chance is already magic, you know?\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge difference to the old format. I participated in two World Cups as a player and two as a coach. Your tournament was [effectively] one game.<\/p>\n Pablo Lemoine has steered Chile to a second straight Rugby World Cup. Photograph: Javier Torres\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cNow you could win one game and qualify. That\u2019s a huge difference in the minds of Tier 2 countries: something different, something positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Mustering a bonus point against Pool A\u2019s heavyweights may prove an impossibility but Lemoine says the revised format will \u201cdefinitely\u201d change his approach against the Wallabies and All Blacks. He is realistic, however, on the prospect of a positive result against them.<\/p>\n \u201cMy ambition is not to beat the All Blacks,\u201d Lemoine says. \u201cIn high performance, when you give a message to the players, they have to believe you. Everybody knows the reality against New Zealand or Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n The New Zealander Mark Cross, Lemoine\u2019s predecessor, describes the changes he has made since 2018. \u201cPablo brought a professional outlook, a high-performance outlook,\u201d Cross says. \u201cHe\u2019s demanding and knows what he wants. He\u2019s changed the rugby landscape in Chile for ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemoine has blazed a trail in more ways than one. He was the first Uruguayan to play professionally in Europe, signed by Bob Dwyer at Bristol in 1998. Simplicity was key.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t speak English. There were many difficulties,\u201d Lemoine says. \u201cBut the only thing I needed was a chance. Bob gave me two or three ideas to understand the lineouts. He said: \u2018Man, you run straight with the ball and tackle straight. The rest, don\u2019t worry.\u2019 I started like this as a professional. After that it was my attitude.<\/p>\n \u201cBristol was a great start for me. Bob was a really good coach. It was a difficult thing coaching a guy like me. I was young, confused about my attitude, aggressive \u2013 not easy. But it was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n What values did Lemoine learn during his career that he now tries to instil in players? \u201cHonesty,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m a really honest coach, I was an honest player. I know my strengths and my weaknesses. I always had a low profile because I am a simple guy: I don\u2019t like to talk about me. My teams have three clear values: humility, respect and ambition. I was a professional, but in all my Uruguay career, I never earned one dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemoine scores against England at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. \u2018I was a professional, but in all my Uruguay career, I never earned one dollar.\u2019 Photograph: Greg White\/Reuters<\/p>\n When Chile qualified for Australia 2027 by beating Samoa in a playoff<\/a>, Lemoine made pointed remarks about funding, or lack thereof. Does he feel supported by World Rugby? \u201cNo,\u201d he says. \u201cChilean rugby received the same money for the high-performance system for the last three years. The money\u2019s not enough. But worse than that the demand is bigger because we are preparing for a World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there are financial problems for World Rugby but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s right to go against a country that is working hard, in a professional way, as they demand. I\u2019m not happy with that but we will keep fighting. We accept the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemoine wonders how nations such as Chile are expected to improve by normally only playing Tier 2 opposition, but also rightly identifies problems in the game\u2019s traditional heartlands.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to discuss how rugby can grow,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s clearly in trouble even in countries like Wales \u2013 famous rugby countries. It doesn\u2019t work. The biggest countries in the world don\u2019t play rugby. In China, India and Pakistan there are billions of potential fans. That\u2019s why I like [former Bristol teammate] Agust\u00edn Pichot\u2019s vision<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Back in 2003 Lemoine scored against England in Brisbane, rumbling straight through Danny Grewcock<\/a> during a 111-13 defeat. Is that a favourite playing memory? \u201cThe game wasn\u2019t very good, man,\u201d he says. \u201cThey scored 100 points. In 2015 I met Danny in a pub, and we finished our discussion with a good pint of beer.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemoine\u2019s increasingly impressive career exemplifies how the game has changed, and is changing. But some rugby traditions will never die.<\/p>\n