2018 ARC Preview – Chile

The third annual Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) has begun. Uruguay’s sensational win over Canada in Vancouver has torn up the script. Looming questions surround the performances of both and what it means for upcoming matches in the tournament and beyond. Chile has a manageable schedule – three home matches and trips to Tierra del Fuego and California.

2017 FORM

Chile did not have a good 2017 ARC. Los Cóndores lost all five of their matches. It started with an uncharacteristic performance in São Paulo. The 17-3 defeat would be followed by a 36-15 loss to Canada, 45-10 defeat to the Argentina XV, 57-9 loss to the USA and a 45-14 defeat against Uruguay.

Los Cóndores won for the first time in 2017 in May. It was a 15-10 victory in a Rugby World Cup qualifier. They would then romp past Paraguay, winning 66-7 to set up a winner-takes-all final against Uruguay. Los Teros came out on top but Chile’s 27-11 defeat was notable improvement from the ARC in February and March.

Chile’s one match in the June Internationals was against the Argentina XV. Los Cóndores fell 31-15 in what was a match as part of the 2017 Sudamérica Rugby Cup.

In the November Internationals Chile had a record four test matches. They started strongly, downing Kenya 23-3 in Hong Kong. Their two remaining matches in Hong Kong were defeats. They were 13-3 against Hong Kong and 42-11 against Russia. They then ended their year in Offenbach with an historic 32-10 win over Germany.

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Two players to have developed notably in 2017 are the second-row pairing of Mario Mayol and Nikola Bursic. They are certain to feature heavily in the upcoming tournament. Named in the initial roster but missing for the start of the competition is Anton Petrowitsch. Now based in Portugal, Petrowitsch was a stand-out in 2017 and a genuine player capable of mixing it with the best.

In the backs there are a number of stand-out players. Scrum-half Juan Pablo Perrotta was instrumental in Chile winning matches in November. His distribution and decision making have both improved, no doubt as part of exposure to higher-level competition courtesy of the ARC.

Fullback Tomás Ianiszewski took over the kicking duties superbly against Hong Kong and is set to be a vital cog in Los Cóndores’ campaign, filling the boots of Francisco González Moller and Matías Nordenflycht. Out wide Franco Velarde will offer finishing abilities to give Chile strong opportunities at taking their scoring chances.

 

VERDICT

Of the six competitors four played at Rugby World Cup 2015. Those not to have done so are Brazil and Chile. The historic levels of the sides combined with the 2016 and 2017 Americas Rugby Championship campaigns implies that Chile and Brazil are likely to be the 5th and 6th placed teams. Chile opens against Brazil giving them an ideal start and a genuine path to avoiding the wooden spoon.

 

FIXTURES

DATE	OPPONENT	VENUE	KICK-OFF TIME
Feb 3	Brazil	Estadio de la Pintana, Santiago	3pm Local, 1pm Eastern
Feb 10	Argentina XV	Estadio Agustín Pichot, Ushuaia	5:40pm, 3:40pm Eastern
Feb 17	USA	Titan Stadium, Fullerton	3pm Local, 6pm Eastern
Feb 24	Uruguay	Estadio de la Pintana, Santiago	3pm Local, 1pm Eastern
Mar 3	Canada	Estadio La Portada, La Serena	4pm local, 2pm Eastern

 

ROSTER

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CAPS	CLUB
Díaz, Basilio	LH				–	COBS
Lastra, Vittorio	LH	1.83 6-0	113 250	Mar 26 1996	11	Valsugana (IT)
Otero, Sebastián	LH/TH	1.83 6-0	108 240	1996	1	Los Troncos
Zamorano, Claudio	LH	1.78 5-10	105 230	Jan 8 1989	20	Stade Francais

Dussaillant, Tomás	HO	1.76 5-9	100 220	Oct 6 1990	15	Old Boys
Guajardo, Ignacio	HO	1.83 6-0	106 235	Aug 13 1991	4	Old Macks
Iturra, Claudio	HO				–	Stade Francais
Moya, Rodrigo	HO	1.81 5-11	105 230	Sep 30 1982	8	PWCC

Díaz, Marco	TH	1.86 6-1	110 240		4	Old Macks
Munita, José Tomás	TH	1.91 6-3	120 265	Aug 11 1992	26	Universidad Católica

Burguener, Bastián	LO	1.94 6-4	106 235	1992	3	Sporting
Bursic, Nikola	LO/N8	1.89 6-2	114 250	Aug 12 1993	25	New Orleans Gold (US)
Eissmann, Javier	LO	2.00 6-7	105 230	1997	–	Universidad Católica
Guiloff, Allan	LO/FL	1.93 6-4	102 225	Dec 15 1989	1	Old Boys
Mayol, Mario	LO	1.95 6-5	112 245	Jul 12 1994	20	Old Boys
Piwonka, Raimundo	LO	1.93 6-4	105 230	Dec 7 1986	12	PWCC

de Urruticoechea, Iñaki	FL				–	COBS
Escobar, Alfonso	FL	1.85 6-1	94 205	Aug 17 1997	–	COBS
Orchard, Thomas	FL	1.93 6-4	95 210	Jan 12 1997	–	Old Lions
Orpis, Eduardo	FL	1.83 6-0	95 210	Jun 8 1995	5	COBS
Petrowitsch, Anton	FL	1.94 6-4	100 220	Oct 20 1994	17	AA Coimbra (PT)
Richard, Javier	FL	1.86 6-1	96 210	Feb 25 1991	18	COBS
Scheel, Axel	FL	1.84 6-0	95 210	Sep 21 1992	–	Old Johns

Dagnino, Manuel	N8	1.85 6-1	102 225	Oct 11 1991	18	Old Macks
Razeto, Adriano	N8			Oct 10 1988	–	Old Locks
Soto, Benjamín	N8	1.82 6-0	98 215	Aug 26 1987	33	Stade Francais

Didier, Hermes	SH			1998	–	Old Johns
Perrotta, Juan Pablo	SH	1.73 5-8	83 180	May 9 1987	32	Universidad Católica
Saavedra, Domingo	SH	1.80 5-11	82 180	Dec 15 1997	2	Old Boys
Vergara, Beltrán	SH	1.76 5-9	81 175	Dec 15 1990	17	Old Boys

Baraona, José Tomás	FH	1.73 5-8	82 180	Jul 2 1992	–	Universidad Católica
Pizarro, Benjamín	FH	1.74 5-9	89 195	Oct 25 1984	6	Universidad Católica
Videla, Santiago	FH	1.79 5-10	83 180	Jan 16 1998	4	Old Boys

Avelli, Lucca	CE	1.77 5-10	84 185	Aug 23 1997	–	PWCC
de la Fuente, Francisco	CE	1.83 6-0	95 210	May 23 1988	29	Barcelona (ES)
Larenas, José Ignacio	CE	1.82 6-0	89 195	Sep 14 1989	27	Universidad Católica
Lavanderos, Javier	CE	1.78 5-10	93 205		2	Sporting
Ramírez, Diego	CE			Oct 2 1997	–	Old Georgians

Balbontín, Matías	WI	1.80 5-11	85 185	Nov 7 1991	4	Old Macks
Raddatz, Martín	WI	1.85 6-1	85 185	Mar 1 1996	1	COBS
Urrutia, Mauricio	WI	1.77 5-10	90 200	Jan 9 1990	9	Sporting
Velarde, Franco	WI	1.85 6-1	90 200	Nov 4 1994	11	Barcelona (ES)
Zunino, Ítalo	WI	1.77 5-10	84 185	Jun 16 1992	12	COBS

Ianiszewski, Tomás	FB	1.82 6-0	83 180	May 15 1992	14	Old Locks
Maturana, José Tomás	FB				–	Old Boys