Match Preview – Chile vs Portugal

Chile will host Portugal in San Carlos de Apoquindo on Saturday, the second and final test of the Lobos’ South American tour. It’s a match that has been forced to move and reschedule due to the civil unrest in the country, but thankfully the game will go ahead as planned.

Portugal have arrived with a young team that were narrowly defeated by Brazil last weekend. There are four changes to their starting lineup, two in the forwards. João Granate comes in for Helano Alberto on the flank and Manuel Picão starts at No8 in place of Vasco Mendes. The entire back row selection, David Wallis on the other flank, played together at the 2017 World Rugby u20 Trophy in Montevideo.

The other two changes are in the backs. 21-year-old Duarte Azevedo is rewarded with his first test start at scrumhalf with João Belo moving to the bench. France-based Dany Antunes also gets a first test start in place of Tomás Cabral on the right wing, with 31-year-old João Tavares set to debut as a replacement.

This is the only test for Los Cóndores in November. Their preparations instead included a warm-up match against San Juan in Argentina, which they won in comprehensive fashion. Pablo Lemoine has opted for continuity with only one personnel change to the run-on side.

Julio Blanc is recalled to take up a spot on the left wing, with José Ignacio Larenas shifting to the right. A surprise choice is that of Lucca Avelli at fullback, the first time the 22-year-old has worn the No15 shirt for Chile. Christian Huerta moves to the bench, one of only two reserve backs along with scrumhalf or wing Juan Pablo Larenas.

Another change to the squad is a recall for prop Mauricio Gómez as backup to Matías Dittus with José Tomás Munita dropping out. The 6-2 split includes Clemente Saavedra as lock or loose forward cover. Former captain Benjamín Soto will play his final test for the Cóndores having confirmed his retirement during the week.

This will be the 4th time the two countries have faced off, with Chile yet to taste victory against Os Lobos. Portugal earned wins in 2004, 2005, and 2012 by scores of 28-9, 31-18, and 28-22 respectively. Based on those results they should enter the match as favorites, but once again face a physically stronger forward pack which gives the Cóndores a fighting chance.

Kickoff is set for 1pm local time, 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern, 4pm in Lisbon. A live broadcast will be available on Rugby Chile’s Facebook page.

 

TEAMS

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Pablo Huete, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Nicolás Garafulic, 8 Ignacio Silva, 9 Beltrán Vergara, 10 Santiago Videla, 11 Julio Blanc, 12 Vicente Ayarza, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 José Ignacio Larenas, 15 Lucca Avelli

Replacements: 16 Tomás Dussaillant, 17 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 18 Mauricio Gómez, 19 Augusto Sarmiento, 20 Clemente Saavedra, 21 Benjamín Soto, 22 Juan Pablo Larenas, 23 Christian Huerta

PORTUGAL
1 Francisco Bruno, 2 Nuno Mascarenhas, 3 Diogo Ferreira, 4 José D’Alte, 5 José Madeira, 6 João Granate, 7 David Wallis, 8 Manuel Picão, 9 Duarte Azevedo, 10 Jerónimo Portela, 11 Raffaele Storti, 12 Tomás Appleton (capt.), 13 António Vidinha, 14 Dany Antunes, 15 Simão Bento

Replacements: 16 José Moreira, 17 David Costa, 18 João Conde, 19 José Roque, 20 Frederico Couto, 21 João Belo, 22 João Maria Lima, 23 João Tavares

Date: Saturday, November 16
Venue: La Pista Atlética, San Carlos de Apoquindo
Kick-Off: 13:00 local (08:00 Pacific, 11:00 Eastern, 16:00 Lisbon)
Broadcasts: Facebook