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Dubai will be last chance saloon for 4 remaining World Cup hopefuls
By Kim Ekin
World Rugby have confirmed that the final qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2023 will take place in Dubai.
From 6-18 November, four nations will battle it out for the last spot at next year's tournament in France; with Hong Kong, Kenya, Portugal and USA all still vying for a spot.
The tournament will be played in a round-robin format over three match days (6, 12 and 18 November) at The Sevens Stadium. It will be a hot one too, with an average temperature of around 31 degrees during the day in November.
The USA Eagles will go into the tournament as heavy favourites despite Gary Gold's team suffering a shock 52-51 aggregate loss to Chile over two legs in recent weeks.
The Eagles are under huge pressure to qualify following the news that they will host the 2031 Rugby World Cup in nine years time. Qualification for France next year is seen as a vital cog in the process of winning over new fans to the sport in the meantime.
Portugal booked their place in the final repechage by securing third place in in the Rugby Europe Championship 2021 and 2022 combined standings.
Kenya will also fight it out for a spot after the Simbas finished as runners-up to Namibia in the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 in France.
Asia Rugby Championship 2022 winners Hong Kong will try to bounce back from their 22-44 defeat against Tonga last weekend to qualify for the first time.
The winners will take their place in Pool C alongside Wales, Australia, Fiji and Georgia.
“There is only one remaining ticket for Rugby World Cup 2023, and it will all comes down to a fantastic Final Qualification Tournament hosted in Dubai this November," said World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont. "The four participating teams have proven their worth during a challenging qualifying process that started in March 2021 and they will give their absolute best to join the France 2023 adventure. Rugby fans worldwide can expect an outstanding and hard-fought tournament."
“We are also delighted to partner with Dubai for this important milestone. Dubai and its Sevens Stadium are an iconic rugby stronghold and represent an ideal and neutral location for teams coming from the four corners of the globe, with world-class infrastructures for teams to perform.”
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McKenzie is better than Barrett , but not better than Richie Mo'unga. Richie regularly outplayed DMac in Super Rugby. , as he did in the 2023 Final in Hamilton. I remember the 2021 Aotearoa Super Rugby Final here in CHCH. Mo'unga took him to the cleaners. McKenzie is a fine footballer , but at best a hybrid 10 . Fergus Burke , ( now playing in England ), who made a big difference when he came back late in the Crusaders season , is a better 10 than DMac. I also think 140 game + Crusader Matt Todd was always a better no 7 than Sam Cane.A big part of 3 title winning teams when South African teams were still in the comp. How many titles did the Chiefs win in that period of time?
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