Castiglioni saves Argentina XV from shock loss to Chile XV

Teo Castiglioni landed an overtime penalty to save the Argentina XV from a shock loss. His 86th minute strike put the Argentina XV ahead 25-24. The Chile XV led the match for the majority of the contest.

The Chile XV were well organized and played with purpose. Los Cóndores’ underlined the progress made during 2020. The creation of the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) resulted in Chile’s first professional team. Selkman debut with a bang, defeating Uruguay’s Peñarol.

For most of the Chile XV today’s match marked a return to the location wherein Selknam upset Peñarol. The Argentina XV were captained today by Tomás Cubilla. The outside center was one of many Ceibos in the match. Among the non-Ceibos were the Jaguares’ duo of Javier Díaz and Javier Ortega Desio. In short, Chilean rugby is on the rise.

The Chile XV started strongly. Fullback Rodrigo Fernández darted down the left flank to score early. The 4th minute try was converted from the sideline by Francisco Urroz.

The Argentina XV hit-back by looking to their roots. Penalty opportunities went to touch rather than the posts. This saw the driving maul tactic being used. Hooker Leonel Oviedo was the benefactor in the 11th minute. Martín Elías’ attempt conversion sailed wide.

Santiago Videla made it a 10-5 scoreline. His penalty at the close of the opening quarter came on the back of the Chile XV frustrating the opposition. The Argentina XV responded as per earlier, this time it was Ignacio Ruiz scoring from an attacking lineout.

The Chile XV regains the lead swiftly. They did so via a Videla penalty. Then with half-time approaching José Ignacio Larenas crossed in the corner. His try gave the Chile XV an 18-12 half-time lead.

The lead switched hands early in the second half. Cubilla’s try was converted by Santiago Mare. Mare was one of many replacements as both teams were able to freely rotate due to the non-capped match status.

Rain and wind affects both teams. It saw knock-on’s and little in the way from attacking waves inside the opposition 22. Both teams committed offenses which saw Urroz and Joaquín Pellandini exchanging penalties.

The Argentina XV led 22-21 from the 58th to the 77th minutes. The deadlock was broken with Urroz putting the Chile XV back in the lead. A nervous Argentina XV ultimately got back the lead. They did so well after the regular time. Teo Castiglioni’s long-range penalty saved the Argentina XV from a shock loss.

Both teams will now watch game two of the South American 4 Nations. The Uruguay XV vs Brazil is of interest to both ahead of their matches on Wednesday and next Sunday.

 

SCORING

ARGENTINA 25
Tries – L. Oviedo (11′), I. Ruiz (28′), T. Cubilla (47′)
Cons – M. Elías (28′), S. Mare (48′)
Pens – J. Pellandini (58′), T. Castiglioni (80′)

CHILE 24
Tries – R. Fernández (4′), J. Larenas (39′)
Cons – F. Urroz (5′)
Pens – S. Videla 2 (21′, 29′), F. Urroz (55′, 77′)

 

TEAMS

ARGENTINA XV
1 Javier Díaz, 2 Leonel Oviedo, 3 Lucas Favre, 4 Santiago Portillo, 5 Franco Molina, 6 Lautaro Bavaro, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 8 Bautista Pedemonte, 9 Lautaro Bázan Vélez, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Martín Cancelliere, 12 Juan Pablo Castro, 13 Tomás Cubilla, 14 Mateo Carreras, 15 Juan Bautista Daireaux

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Rodrigo Martínez, 18 Francisco Minervino, 19 Estanislao Carullo, 20 Federico Guttiérrez, 21 Joaquín Pellandini, 22 Santiago Mare, 23 Matías Osadczuk, 24 Teo Castiglioni, 25 Juan Cruz Pérez Rachel, 26 Santiago Ruiz

CHILE XV
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Tomas Dussaillant, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Ignacio Silva, 7 Martín Sigren, 8 Nicolás Garafulic, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Francisco Urroz, 11 Matías Garafulic, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Julio Blanc, 15 Rodrigo Fernández

Replacements: 16 Augusto Böhme, 17 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Salvador Lues, 20 Santiago Pedrero, 21 Thomas Orchard, 22 Jan Hasenlechner, 23 Luca Strabucchi, 24 José Ignacio Larenas, 25 Alfonso Escobar, 26 Joaquín Huici

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Cauá Ricardo (Brazil)
Assistants: Francisco González (Uruguay) & Nehuén Jauri Rivero (Argentina)