'The more you suffer, the more you enjoy it at the end'

Jose Escobedo was the toast of Chile on Friday after his last gasp-try in the corner in Stellenbosch defeated Tonga, last weekend’s first-leg title winners, at the 2023 Sevens Challenger Series. The Chileans had underperformed in week one, surprisingly losing to Belgium at the quarter-final stage and finishing seventh overall.

However, they made up for that setback with a thrilling success over the Tongans in the final match on the opening day of the second leg of the series. Chile had raced into a 17-0 lead only to become swamped by a massive Tongan onslaught that ushered the Pacific Islanders 19-17 ahead to leave them set for victory.

However, the drama under the warm South African sun had one final twist with Tomas Salas collecting a left-to-right pass from a breakdown and running back towards the left-hand corner to where he supplied Escobedo with the inch-perfect pass to clinch an inspiring 22-19 victory.

Pierre Spies – Surviving Blood Clots To Become An SA Rugby Legend | RugbyPass Offload EP 74

Pierre Spies – Surviving Blood Clots To Become An SA Rugby Legend | RugbyPass Offload EP 74

Manuel Bustamante told RugbyPass: “We are happy for the win. Tough game. We really had to grind to make it better. But the more you suffer, the more you enjoy it at the end.

“We talked about being patient and never giving up – and that is one of the basics of our team. All the training we have been through, the mindset as well helps with that, not giving up, and you see the result.

Chile celebrate after their dramatic final play 22-19 win over Tonga in Stellenbosch. They led 17-0 before falling 17-19 behind prior to their last second clincher. ?@WorldRugby7s? #7sChallengerSeries #HSBC7s @chilerugby pic.twitter.com/vDIi5dE2Yz

— liam heagney (@heagneyl) April 28, 2023

“We are happy for the win, but we haven’t won anything yet so eyes on the prize still, one step at a time, Jamaica first on Saturday and after the quarter-finals.”

The aggregate winners of the 12-team men’s section will go forward into a four-team qualifier in London next month looking for promotion to next season’s revamped World Series circuit.

The aggregate women’s section winner will be automatically promoted to the World Series and host nation South Africa remain on course to make the jump. Having won the first-leg title last weekend, they won both their pool matches on Friday to progress to the second-leg quarter-finals.