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Chile made history this evening. Los Cóndores claimed a historic first ever win over the Argentina XV. The result will send shockwaves to the far north of the Americas. Chile face Canada in a home-and-away series in October. The winner will advance in RWC 2023 qualifiers while the loser will be eliminated.
The contest was officially Chile’s test side taking-on Argentina’s next-of-XV. Both teams were dominated by players who competed in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) earlier this year. Chile’s side, Selknam, were Semi Finalists while Argentina’s side, Los Jaguares XV went undefeated. In short, despite some missing to Los Pumas, the result was very much an upset win for Los Cóndores.
Chile’s sensational win was that of a courageous and determined group of players. Coached by former Uruguayan RWC player and coach, Pablo Lemoine, Chile are now serious contenders for repechage as Americas 3. Getting there requires a series win over Canada.
Based on today’s performance and fixtures from 2020 and 2021 Los Cóndores are on the right track. Their win over the Argentina XV involved an unlikely comeback. The Argentina XV led 12-6 at half-time and went 19-6 ahead seven minutes into the second half.
Chile put together a stunning ten minute effort wherein they ran-in three tries. It gave them a 25-19 lead with less than ten minutes left in the contest.
Los Cóndores had a strong start. Austin Gilgronis’ scrum-half Marcelo Torrealba put Chile up 6-0 with two penalties. The early lead was removed by the Argentina XV thanks to two first half tries. Gerónimo Priscinatelli and Bautista Bernasconi were the scorers.
When Justo Piccardo scored in the 47th minute it appeared as if the Argentina XV was on course for a win. It was not to be. The investment in High Performance Centers, coaching and the players’ commitment saw Los Cóndores making history.
The ten minutes the turned the match on its head started with a try to the versatile Nicolás Garafulic. Captain Martín Sigren went over for another after Dominego Saavedra provided the assist. The center then broke three tackles en route to the tryzone to give Chile the lead.
The Argentina XV were stunned but they did have time to fight back. A try came with Martín Bogado touching down in the try zone. Replacement fly half Martín Elías missed the conversion attempt. It meant that it was a one point contest in favor of Chile with three minutes remaining.
Chile held on for the win. The players celebrated the result together. Their smiles and energy was more than an indication that their have their eyes on further history in October.
With Chile’s eyes now turning to Canada the Argentina XV depart Santiago with their attention on Uruguay. The Argentina XV are now on a two-match losing streak. Having fallen to Uruguay in July, they now return to Montevideo to face Uruguay on Sunday.
SCORING
CHILE 25
Try – N Garafulic 59′; Sigren 63′; D Saavedra 68′
Con – Velarde 64′, 69′
Pen – Torrealba (2) 5′, 12′
ARGENTINA XV 24
Try – Prisciantelli 33′; Bernasconi 37′; Piccardo 47′; Bogado 76′
Con – Prisciantelli (3) 34′, 38′, 48′
TEAMS
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
