Reaction from Chile head coach Pablo Lemoine, captain Martin Sigren, fly-half Rodrigo Fernandez and wing Santiago Videla following their 42-12 loss against Japan in Pool D at Stadium de Toulouse.
Martin Sigren, captain:
On his reaction to the defeat:
“We gave it everything and we can be proud of our performance. We gave a good fight, maybe not right to the last minute, but we really enjoyed it, which is a really important part of it as well.
“There were little opportunities that you have to take advantage of and that is where we lost it.”
On facing Samoa next on Saturday, 16 September:
“It will be a physical battle and we need to let our bodies recover. It will be a short week compared to this one but we have to get ready.”
Pablo Lemoine, head coach:
On his team’s performance:
“It was tough but I think it was a great start. It is difficult when you play your first game of a World Cup, especially against Japan. They are a team with a lot of ambition.
“We were OK for 60 minutes but in the last 20 minutes we missed some experience to manage the game and Japan were amazing with their efficiency.”
Pablo Lemoine, head coach
On his pride in the players on Chile’s Rugby World Cup debut:
“We are always proud because I know where they come from. It was very emotional for me. Many countries will understand that we are ready for the World Cup and we are there. So I was proud and I have always been proud. But today, I think we created a new image, a great one.”
Martin Sigren, captain
On Chile making their Rugby World Cup debut:
“Seeing all the Chilean people, we understood why we worked so hard. We should be proud.”
On the two yellow cards and whether they were the turning point of the game:
“They scored a lot at the end of the game. There was an impact but we struggled physically in the end of the game, maybe because we fought for 20 minutes with 14.”
On his thoughts on Japan:
“We fought hard. The Japan team were what we expected – fast, seeing opportunity and managing the ball. But defence-wise we played well. We were able to hurt (them) and put pressure on their lines. We played until the last 20 minutes. Our hope gave more energy to the game.”
On what he felt in the game:
“A lot of emotions. It’s amazing to see your family in the stand. It’s difficult to describe it but I will never forget them.”
On the future for Chile rugby:
“This is a responsibility on us when we step on the pitch. We want to make rugby popular because football is at the moment. This World Cup may help, we don’t want this to be the first (and only) one. It wasn’t easy to qualify. We want this to happen in the future.”
MIXED ZONE REACTION
Rodrigo Fernandez, fly-half
On scoring Chile’s first-ever try at the Rugby World Cup:
“I feel really happy. It was more about the effort of the team that we broke the defence of Japan – I was in the right place at the right time.”
On next opponents, Samoa:
“That game is a little bit more physical. Those guys are really, really big and they are coming with no [World Cup] game before so it will be really physical, really tough. We need to work on that so we can give them a surprise.”
On Chile’s fans in Toulouse:
“I’m really happy about the Chilean fans today, it was amazing to have them here, so I give them the invitation to keep supporting us because need them.”
Santiago Videla, wing
On where the game was lost:
“We knew Japan would be playing a game based on velocity and fast decision-making. We knew we would have to be in the contact zone, to be tough over there. For us the discipline cost us too much. You have to be more focused in the game.
“They are an elite team, they have played the last World Cups, they are not a surprise anymore, they are a strong team.”
On hearing the Chilean anthem:
“It was quite an emotion, we could hear the 15,000 Chileans that came this afternoon to see the first game of Chile. It’s quite a unique moment, a moment that we will never forget.
“For sure the crowd was loud. It was difficult to hear your team-mates on the field. Maybe that is what the World Cup is about. It’s our first World Cup game with 35,000 people so it’s difficult to hear. We spoke about it before the game but it’s different in reality. We heard Chilean songs and them pushing for us and it was quite a moment.”
Martin Sigren, captain:
On what he said to keep Chile going throughout the 80 minutes:
“That’s part of the DNA we’ve been working on. Resilience has been one of our main characteristics. We’ve been through hell to get here. We’ve had to pick ourselves up multiple times. That’s what we have as Chileans and as a team. So just looking at each other and keep on going.
“It’s a fighting team and a fighting nation.”
On the Chile support:
“I’m super proud of being a Chilean and super proud of my people. I think we can say we made them proud and we’re inspiring lots of people who are joining the game to join our fight.”
Amato Fakatava, Mastercard Player of the Match
On the game:
“Today was pretty tough. We expect Chile to come strong. It’s pretty hot but happy to be out there with the boys. My first World Cup … unbelievable. I don’t know how I made it here.”
Yutaka Nagare, captain
On the importance of the win:
“Every game is not an easy game so it’s really important that we grabbed that win. Chile fought really hard.”
On what pleased him:
“It’s great to see all the fans supporting us today, it’s a great atmosphere. We struggled a little bit against the Chileans’ physicality but we executed our gameplan which was great for us.”
Jamie Joseph, head coach
On the bonus-point victory:
“Chile came with a really spirited performance, really hearty, tackled like demons, turned our ball over, really put us under pressure. We had to deal with that without losing confidence.”
On Chile and the occasion:
“It doesn’t matter how much you say to the players that Chile are going to come to play today, the support for their team was amazing. They cheered for everything, as the Japanese do, so you really feel that they had a whole bunch of people behind them today.”
On the next game against England:
“We know that it’s a different prospect for us, but it’s been a difficult couple of weeks for us so we’ll just enjoy this.”
Jamie Joseph, head coach
On the match:
“It was exactly what we thought we would get from Chile. It’s their first World Cup, they are a proud country and we were always going to get a spirited, hearty performance, but they exceeded that by a long way and put us under a lot of pressure. We had to battle for everything we got.
“I am really proud of our guys. To score 40 points in the end if a big victory for us but we have no doubt that we have been in a test match.”
On the next matches:
“I know that pressure is always important. What you saw today was probably something you weren’t expecting, you guys weren’t expecting Chile to come out and perform like that but we were – which is why we won that Test match and why we won reasonably comfortably.
“It’s been a good learning experience for us. Next week we are playing a tier one team, one of the best nations of rugby. We saw them dismantle Argentina. Physically, intelligently and they play a different kind of rugby. We don’t play that way, we can’t win if we play that way against England so we will have an enjoyable week this week because you guys won’t be expecting that we can do anything.”
On captain [Kazuki] Himeno’s injury:
“He was tight around his calf and it was a real easy decision for me not to risk such a crucial and important player for us. We gave him another 24 hours and he still wasn’t feeling comfortable. We have to make those calls for the team. He is feeling a lot better today and he probably could have played today but we’ve come through today’s test match and we look forward to welcoming him [back into the team].”
Yutaka Nagare, captain
On what they have learnt:
“We have learnt a lot. The pressure was on us at some points but we did not panic. We were about to conserve the ball and this allowed us to win. I didn’t know we would win by such a margin, we just focus on the result. Chile had a very physical game so we have learnt from that.”
On being named captain:
“I just told the players to play as they would with Himeno and I tried to act as he would have. I know that it was important to be calm, confident and to be on the offensive and I think everybody understood it. During the game even when there were some breaks I just explained we had to keep going in the same direction and keep working together. They all trusted me and it was very positive for me.”
“I was very excited about my two tries. I couldn’t do it without God, God is good.”
On Chile’s performance on their Rugby World Cup debut:
“They were exactly what we expected. They were very passionate when they came out. They put our team under a lot of pressure and it was 80 minutes of hard work.
“They were very competitive. For a first-time performance, they did extremely well.”
On the Chilean support:
“They were awesome. We expected the Chileans to be very passionate on the field but as soon as we got to the stadium the noise of the Chilean supporters was amazing. It was crazy. I wish they could come to every World Cup.”
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