Spain Name Strong Roster for Chile

Spanish Rugby Head Coach Santiago Santos has confirmed a 23-man roster for his team’s home test match against Chile in Torrelavega, Cantabria on November 21. Included are nineteen players who play in France, predominantly in the Pro D2.

With both Chile and Spain now knowing what they must do to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2019 the fixture is a genuine opportunity for both to begin building for their respective qualification paths. It is also a vital fixture in building for the short-term as Spain will play in the European Nations Cup in February while Chile’s dream of a Six Nations competition in the Americas will become reality in under 90 days.

Spain is taking the opportunity to build with six debutants having been selected – Xerom Civil, Asier Usárraga, Jonathan García, Afa Tauli, Mathieu Belie, and Narbonne fly half Christopher Ruiz.

The fixture itself is to be historic with Chile playing test rugby in Spain for the first time. It is also to be the first match between the countries in four years. Previous matches between the countries  has seen split results with Los Condors winning 28-23 in 1995 and 20-18 in 2000 while Spain completed wins by score-lines of 30-25 in 2007 and 36-3 in 2013.