Chile national rugby union team

The Chile national rugby union team (Spanish: Selección nacional de rugby de Chile) represents Chile in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Los Cóndores, plays in red jerseys and blue shorts, and it's organised by the Chilean Rugby Federation (Federación de Rugby de Chile). As of 2019, Chile has not qualified for a Rugby World Cup.

Chile
Nickname(s)Los Cóndores
EmblemAndean condor
UnionChilean Rugby Federation
Head coachPablo Lemoine
CaptainMartín Sigren
Most capsCristian Onetto (65)
Top scorerCristian González (192)
Home stadiumEstadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos
Parque Mahuida
Centro de Alto Rendimiento
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current29 (as of 23 November 2020)
Highest23 (2003-05, 2007, 2009-12, 2015)
Lowest31 (2018)
First international
Chile 0–29 Argentina
(18 September 1936)
Biggest win
Chile 102–0 Paraguay
(5 May 2003)
Biggest defeat
Chile 6–89 Argentina
(20 May 2009)
World Cup
Appearances0
Website

Chile was the second South American nation after Argentina to play international rugby union, playing their first international test against Argentina in 1936 in Santiago. Chile is one of the founding members of CONSUR, now known as Sudamérica Rugby, in 1989, alongside Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile has long been participating in the South American Rugby Championship since 1951, and has consistently been the third or second best team in South America. In 2016, Chile, alongside the unions of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay, formed the Americas Rugby Championship, aimed at increasing the standard of rugby union in the Americas.

The sport has historic connections to the Scottish community in the country. In 2012, two Scottish-Chilean players, Donald and Ian Campbell, were inducted into the IRB (now World Rugby) Hall of Fame.

History

Early history (1890s - 1959)

Rugby was introduced in Chile roughly around the late 19th century, as it was in other parts of South America by British immigrants who arrived in ports.[1] The first recorded rugby game taking place on Chilean soil was in 1894, from British immigrants who lived in both Santiago, Iquique and Valparaíso. Until the 1930s, the game was initially mostly played by the British-descended community of Chile.[2] In 1935, the Chilean Rugby Federation was founded.

Chile's first ever fixtures were against Argentina in September 1936, a two-game series played in the capital Santiago. Chile lost both of their games by scorelines of 0 to 20 and 3 to 31, respectively. Chile would visit Argentina in 1938 in Buenos Aires, losing 3 to 33. Chile would not play another fixture until 1948, where they beat Uruguay 21 to 3 in Buenos Aires.

The Chilean team began competing more consistently in the 1950s. In 1951, Chile played the first South American Rugby Championship against Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in 1951; Chile finished third, beating Brazil by a margin of 68 to nil, but losing to both Uruguay and Argentina. In 1952, Chile received Ireland on tour, but in Santiago 30 to 0. Chile would play another Five Nations side, this time France on tour, but lost 34-3. In 1958, Chile participated in the second South American Rugby Championship, finishing second; Chile easily beat both Peru and Uruguay before falling to Argentina, finishing second.

1960s - 1980s

By the 1960s Chile saw itself established as a middle contender in South America. Chile were consistently beating sides like Brazil and Uruguay, but couldn't breakthrough against the mighty Argentina. In 1966, Chile received the Springboks, their first test against a SANZAR side, but lost 72 to 0. During the 1970s Chile didn't play any non-South American competition; for the most part Chile were finishing second or third in South America, usually beating Brazil and newcomers Paraguay, and dog fighting for second against Uruguay. In the 1980s, former coach of France Jean-Pierre Juanchich took over administration of rugby in Chile, which led to better promotion, awareness, and improvement in Chilean rugby. In 1989, a proper governing body for rugby in South America, CONSUR, was formed.

1990s - 2000s

Chile formally joined the International Rugby Board in 1991, allowing Chile to participate formally in World Cup competitions. In 1993, Chile participated in its first ever World Cup Qualifying competition in 1993, entering qualifying for the 1995 Rugby World Cup; however, they lost all their fixtures to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, finishing bottom of the group. In 1995, Chile played Spain, winning 28 - 23.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying campaign was more successful. Chile easily swept through a group containing the teams of Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago. However, Chile lost 14 to 20 against Uruguay, therefore missing out on a repechage spot, and potentially a spot in the World Cup.

In 2000, Chile came within 2 points of defeating Argentina. This improved form would continue through the early 2000s, easily disposing of Brazil in their first qualifier for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In the final round, a round robin containing Canada, Uruguay, and the United States, the Chileans won their first home fixture versus Uruguay before losing their next two to the USA and Canada. Despite this, Chile recorded an upset, defeating the United States 21 to 13 in Santiago. Despite being improved, Chile dropped their next two games, finishing the campaign with 2 wins and 4 losses. Unfortunately for Chile, they finished bottom on try difference, yet again missing out on a repechage spot, and potential qualification.

The 2007 qualifiers were mostly the same song as the previous campaigns; Chile swept their first round against Paraguay and Brazil but in the final group lost both their games to Argentina and Uruguay, which once again would have secured a repechage at least, and potentially an automatic spot in the World Cup.

The 2011 campaign was short-lived, having automatically been seeded into Round 3A of the qualifiers in the new format. Chile cruised to victory versus Brazil but once again lost to familiar foes Uruguay, and once again missing out on a potential repechage or automatic qualifier.

2010-present

In 2010, Chile nearly started the new decade with a bang, coming very close to defeating Oceania powerhouse Tonga, but losing 32–30. The following year in 2011, Chile beat Uruguay for the first time in nine years, winning 21–18 and finishing second in the South American Championship.

The decade has been marked by inconsistency in results. In 2013, Chile began their qualifying campaign, opening up with a victory versus Brazil, but yet again lost to foes Uruguay, following the same pattern of results since the 1999 campaign. In 2014, Chile reached a bottom point; in the 2014 South American Championship, they finished bottom of the group, losing to Brazil for the first time in their history. Chile were also wooden spooners in the 2014 CONSUR Cup, the new competition featuring Argentina and the top 2 sides in South America. However, the following year, Chile won the South American Championship for the first time in their history, cruising through both Brazil and Paraguay before defeating Uruguay at home 30–15.

In 2016, Chile participated in the first Americas Rugby Championship in its current format. Chile squeaked a home win versus Brazil, before playing a close game against Argentina before tiring out in the last 20 minutes, ultimately losing 52–15. Chile were blown out by the United States in Fort Lauderdale 64–0 before nearly beating Uruguay, losing 20–23. Chile lost their last game at home versus Canada, 64–13, finishing bottom in the inaugural edition.

In the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship, Chile was defeated in all five matches, scoring just four tries in the tournament. In the 2017 Cup of Nations, the team claimed a win over Kenya, while losing to Russia and Hong Kong.

Record

Overall record

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 rankings as of 13 January 2021[3]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1  South Africa094.20
2  England089.49
3  New Zealand088.95
4  France085.30
5  Ireland084.65
6  Australia083.08
7  Scotland080.82
8  Argentina080.31
9  Wales079.36
10  Japan079.29
11  Fiji076.87
12  Georgia072.18
13  Tonga071.44
14  Italy070.88
15  Samoa070.72
16  United States068.10
17  Spain067.51
18  Uruguay067.02
19  Romania065.33
20  Portugal062.12
21  Russia061.96
22  Hong Kong061.23
23  Canada061.11
24  Namibia061.04
25  Netherlands060.09
26  Brazil058.19
27  Belgium057.17
28   Switzerland054.12
29  Chile053.81
30  Germany053.13
*Change from the previous week
Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff
 Argentina3903900.00%2701855−1585
 Argentina XV40400.00%53151−98
 Argentina Jaguars10100.00%2342−19
 Bermuda1100100.00%658+57
 Brazil27214277.78%870324+546
 Canada50500.00%62189−127
 Fiji10100.00%1641−25
 France Amateur10100.00%322−19
 France XV10100.00%334−31
 Georgia211050.00%3653−17
 Germany1100100.00%3210+22
 Hong Kong10100.00%613−7
 Kenya1100100.00%233+20
 Paraguay27261096.30%1098276+822
 Peru2200100.00%626+56
 Portugal30300.00%4987−38
 Romania10100.00%1127-16
 Russia10100.00%1142−31
 Spain523040.00%86151−65
 South Korea211050.00%6650+16
 Tonga10100.00%3032−2
 Trinidad and Tobago1100100.00%356+29
 United States514020.00%65214−149
 Uruguay531240123.08%8041264−460
 Venezuela1100100.00%953+92
Total18671112338.17%38744903−1029

World Cup record

World Cup record World Cup Qualification record
Year Round P W D L F A P W D L F A
1987Not invited
1991Did not enter
1995Did not qualify300337109
1999Did not qualify430116840
2003Did not qualify8404217155
2007Did not qualify4202121138
2011Did not qualify21018849
2015Did not qualify42029278
2019Did not qualify320111357
Total 0/9 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 14 0 14 836 626

South American Rugby Championship record

  • 1951 - Runners-up
  • 1958 - Runners-up
  • 1961 - Runners-up
  • 1964 - Fourth place
  • 1967 - Runners-up
  • 1969 - Runners-up
  • 1971 - Runners-up
  • 1973 - Third place
  • 1975 - Runners-up
  • 1977 - Third place
  • 1979 - Runners-up
  • 1981 - Runners-up
  • 1983 - Third place
  • 1985 - Third place
  • 1987 - Third place
  • 1989 - Third place
  • 1991 - Third place
  • 1993 - Fourth place
  • 1995 - Third place
  • 1997 - Third place
  • 1998 - Third place
  • 2000 - Third place
  • 2001 - Third place
  • 2002 - Third place
  • 2003 - Third place
  • 2004 - Third place
  • 2005 - Third place
  • 2006 - Third place
  • 2007 - Third place
  • 2008 - Third place
  • 2009 - Third place
  • 2010 - Third place
  • 2011 - Runners-up
  • 2012 - Third place
  • 2013 - Third place
  • 2014 - Fourth place
  • 2015 - First place
  • 2016 - Runners-up
  • 2017 - Runners-up
  • 2018 - Third place

Sudamérica Rugby Cup/CONSUR Cup record

  • 2014 - Third place
  • 2015 - Did not participate
  • 2016 - Third place
  • 2017 - Third place

Americas Rugby Championship record

  • 2016 - Sixth place
  • 2017 - Sixth place
  • 2018 - Sixth place

Kit

The home kit consists of a red jersey and blue shorts adopted from the colors of the Chilean flag, and the away kit consists of a blue jersey and shorts. The crest features the logo of the Federación de Rugby de Chile. The current national team kit is manufacturer by Gilbert. The team is currently sponsored by Peugeot. The former national team kit was manufactured by Mitre Sports International.

Current squad

Chile's 31-man squad for the 2020 South Americas Four Nations.[4]

Head Coach: Pablo Lemoine

  • Caps Updated: 10 January 2019

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Tomás Dussaillant Hooker (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986 25 Selknam
Raimundo Martínez Hooker PWCC
Augusto Böhme Hooker (1997-06-11) 11 June 1997 6 Selknam
Javier Carrasco Prop (1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 2 Selknam
Marco Díaz Prop (1993-07-16) 16 July 1993 4 Uni Católica
Iñaki Gurruchaga Prop Selknam
Esteban Inostroza Prop 0 Selknam
Salvador Lues Prop COBS
Matías Dittus Prop Selknam
Nikola Bursic Lock (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 23 New Orleans Gold
Javier Eissmann Lock (1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 5 Selknam
Santiago Pedrero Lock 0 COBS
Clemente Saavedra Lock (1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 5 Selknam
Ignacio Silva Flanker (1989-02-16) 16 February 1989 27 Selknam
Thomas Orchard Flanker (1997-01-12) 12 January 1997 7 Selknam
Nicolás Garafulic Flanker Selknam
Alfonso Escobar Flanker Selknam
Anton Petrowitsch Number 8 COBS
Martín Sigren Number 8 (1996-05-14) 14 May 1996 11 Selknam
Jan Hassenlechner Scrum-half COBS
Marcelo Torrealba Scrum-half (1996-05-06) 6 May 1996 1 Austin Gilgronis
Santiago Videla Fly-half (1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 9 Selknam
Francisco Urroz Fly-half (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 7 Selknam
Diego Warnken Fly-half 0 Alumni
Domingo Saavedra Centre (1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 13 Selknam
José Ignacio Larenas Centre (1989-09-14) 14 September 1989 38 Universidad Católica
Matías Garafulic Centre 0 Selknam
Franco Velarde Centre Viña del Mar Old Boys
Luca Strabucchi Wing 1 Alumni
Julio Blanc Wing (1995-07-06) 6 July 1995 3 Selknam
Rodrigo Fernández Fullback COBS
Joaquín Huici Fullback 0 Stade Français

Notable players

See also

References

  1. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1) p65
  2. Collins, Tony (1 September 2015). The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby (First ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781408843703. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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