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Chile play host to the Argentina XV on Wednesday. The match is a non-capped international but is a fixture with a trophy up for grabs. The winner will lift the Copa Transandina. The previous meeting between the sides was a thriller; the Argentina XV completed a last-gasp 25-24 win in October 2020.
The 2021 match sees Chile not the Argentina XV as the center of attention. This is with good reason; Chile have their eyes on Canada for next month’s RWC qualifiers wherein the winner advances and the loser is eliminated. It is reaching boil-over point and the warm-up against the Argentina XV will battle-hardner Los Cóndores.
Aside from the upcoming RWC qualifiers, one further factor separates this fixture to those of prior matches between Chile and the Argentina XV. Chile now has High Performance Centers and the results have been clearly positive. Selknam was competitive in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) and Chile was notably more competitive in 2020 and 2021 than in 2016-2019.
High Performance has given Chile a formidable scrum. The players have bulked up and there is also an increased skill-set across the positions. In short, fitter and stronger players make for a more competitive team.
Those who featured for the Argentina XV in 2020 against Chile will know that the task that awaits them will be complex. The improved Chileans will put up a fight; yet, there is also the issue of player management. The Argentina XV will play Uruguay after three rest days.
The Argentina XV is officially Argentina’s next-of XV; however the reality is different. Since 2016 the team has predominantly been composed of players groomed for possible future international honors. The team that will take to the field against Chile has current SLAR players and also potential future ones.
By way of comparison, Chile’s side will be led out by Martín Sigren. The Selknam flanker will lead a side dominated by others who played for the Chilean SLAR franchise earlier this year. His regular flanker partner, Ignacio Silva remains sidelined following his knee injury sustained in July.
The Argentina XV welcome back Juan Bautista Pedemonte. The former Jaguares N8 will play his first match of representative rugby in a year. He was injured playing in the 2020 South American Championship. Pedemonte starts opposite one of Chile’s best performers in 2020, Alfonso Escobar.
The visitors will be led by Tomás Cubilla from outside center. He joins Rafael Iriarte, Agustín Segura and Gerónimo Prisciantelli as Jaguares XV players starting in the backs. Olímpia Lion Martín Bogado starts on the left wing. His future may be for Los Jaguares XV rather than the Paraguayan franchise.
The same applies to other names. Peñarol’s Conrado Roura and the Olímpia Lions’ Jerónimo Gómez Vara start in the back-row while Ignacio Calás is back from Super Rugby AU to join Federico Gutiérrez in locking the scrum. Their contest opposite Santiago Pedrero, and Javier Eissmann will be sure to bring out the best from all four men.
CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Augusto Bohme, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Baltazar Jana, 12 José Larenas, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Franco Velarde
Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Tomás Dussaillant, 18 Vittorio Lastra, 19 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 20 Gaspar Moltedo, 21 Nicolás Sabaleta, 22 Augusto Sarmiento 23 Maximiliano Silva, 24 Lukas Carvallo, 25 Tomás Alvarado, 26 Clemente Armstrong
ARGENTINA XV
1 Nicolás Revol, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 3 Javier Coronel, 4 Ignacio Calás, 5 Federico Gutiérrez, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara, 7 Conrado Roura, 8 Juan Bautista Pedemonte, 9 Rafael Iriarte, 10 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 11 Martín Bogado, 12 Justo Piccardo, 13 Tomás Cubilla (capt.), 14 Agustín Segura, 15 Francisco Pisani
Replacements: 16 Francisco Minnervino, 17 Mariano Muntaner, 18 Gonzalo Hughes, 19 Brian González, 20 Lucio Anconetani, 21 Pedro Rubiolo, 22 Joaquín Moro, 23 Juan Cruz Strada, 24 Martín Elías, 25 Iñaki Delguy, 26-Santiago Vera Feld
Date: Wednesday, September 15
Kick-Off: 7:00pm (Local); 7:00pm (Argentina)
Venue: San Carlos de Apoquindo (Santiago, Chile)
Referee: Felipe Balbontín (Chile)
Assistant Referees: Ignacio Calle (Chile); Raimundo Fuenzalida (Chile)
Broadcast: Star + (Latin America)
RECENT RESULTS
2020-10-17 Argentina XV 25, Chile 24 (Montevideo, Uruguay)
2019-05-18 Argentina XV 55, Chile 3 (Tucumán, Argentina)
2019-03-09 Chile 10, Argentina XV 85 (Santiago, Chile)
2019-01-23 Argentina XV 47, Chile 14 (La Boya, Argentina)
2018-02-10 Argentina XV 57, Chile 12 (Ushuaia, Argentina)
2017-06-03 Chile 15, Argentina XV 31 (Santiago, Chile)
2017-02-18 Chile 10, Argentina XV 45 (Concepción, Chile)
2016-06-04 Chile 12, Argentina XV 87 (Santiago, Chile)
2016-02-13 Argentina XV 52, Chile 15 (San Juan, Argentina)
