RWC 2023 Warm-Up – Uruguay vs Chile – ARN Guide

A new look will be on display in Montevideo on Saturday. Uruguay and Chile meet in a first-ever Rugby World Cup warm-up. Uruguay has competed at four previous Rugby World Cups with RWC 2019 being Los Teros’ fifth. Chile will make their debut at a Rugby World Cup this year.

Uruguay and Chile have a long rivalry. They first competed in a test match in 1948. Chile won the inaugural contest 21-03. In total they have played 49 times, making Saturday’s match the 50th. Additional matches have seen the teams competing as the next-of-XV despite being the senior sides such as Uruguay XV vs Chile XV in the 2020 series.

Chile won the 2020 fixture to kick-start their transformation. It was followed Uruguay narrowing beating Chile in the RWC qualifiers in 2021. These results suggest that the teams are closer than the historic average. In short, a competitive match is expected to unfold at the Estadio Charrúa.

Uruguay are led again by Andrés Vilaseca from inside center. His Vannes teammate Nicolas Freitas also starts in the backs, though will play right wing rather than outside center. Peñarol’s starting 13 Tomás Inciarte will play outside Vilaseca.

Further surprises can be identified in the backs. Felipe Etcheverry starts ahead of Felipe Berchesi at fly half. Etcheverry will partner Santiago Álvarez in the backs. Álvarez starts with Santiago Arata out of the World Cup warm-up matches with a broken finger.

The back-three is very different to that which saw Peñarol win Super Rugby Americas 2023. Baltazar Amaya and Bautista Basso are back from Los Pumas 7’s while, as noted, Freitas will play wing rather than center.

The forwards are very close to what is expected to be starting for Uruguay at the World Cup. French-based players Germán Kessler and Manuel Leindekar start at hooker and lock respectively. They join six Peñarol players as the starting forward pack.

Veteran Mateo Sanguinetti will start at loose head with the greatly improved Ignacio Peculo joining him at tight head. Felipe Aliaga joins Manuel Leindekar to give Los Teros two tall targets in the lineout. Jackal expert Manuel Ardao will play flanker with the versatile Lucas Bianchi parenting him and ARN’s Super Rugby Americas MVP Manuel Diana starting at there back of the scrum.

Uruguay’s replacement bench is out of the ordinary. Two examples are that Facundo Gattas is covering loose head rather than hooker and that there is no replacement scrum-half. Inciarte will cover 9. Agustín Ormaechea, Rodrigo Silva and Ignacio Dotti have all tactically not been selected to face Chile.

Of note is that Reinaldo Piussi, and Juan Manuel Rodríguez have both been handed opportunities as replacements. So too has Santiago Civetta who missed all of Super Rugby Americas 2023 following surgery.

Chile’s preparations also involved some players recovering from injuries and surgeries. Regular captain Martín Sigren and Augusto Sarmiento are missing in the forwards and Nicolás Garafulic and Franco Velarde in the backs.

Rodrigo Fernández will captain the side in place of Sigren. Fernández was made famous for his try against the USA in the qualifiers. He will now be entrusted with extra responsibility against Los Teros.

Marcelo Torrealba will play inside Fernández at scrum-half. The players have played a lot together for Selknam and Los Cóndores. Two big players will start in the mid-field with Matías Garafulic and Pablo Casas named as the center combination.

The back-three is less orthodox. The versatile Santiago Videla will play left wing and Iñaki Ayarza moves from center to fullback. Cristóbal Game will make his test debut for Chile on the right wing.

The forwards see plenty of experience. The French-based Matías Dittus and former French and New Zealand based Pablo Huete start at tight head and second-row respectively. Fellow veteran Ignacio Silva will play flanker.

There is also youth involved. Indeed, the average age of Chile’s side that went in to the Rugby World Cup qualifiers was just 24. Selknam has helped transform Los Cóndores into a more competitive team. They could not have qualified for the World Cup without their system.

Javier Carrasco, Augusto Bohme, and Matías Dittus will form a sold front-row. The combination is certain to ask Uruguay questions at scrum-time. The maul will also be a prominent weapon. Javier Eissmann, and Pablo Huete are both proven in the lineout. N8 Alfonso Escobar is one of rugby’s most improved players during the RWC 2019-2023 cycle.

The match will be refereed by Briton Luke Pearce. This means that it will be officiated in English; yet, both teams are Spanish-Speaking. It demonstrates the failure of World Rugby to deliver a global game. This is compounded by Argentine officials Nehuen Jauri Rivero and Damian Schneider being assistant referees for the match. Neither will officiate at the World Cup and no Americas official has done so since 2003.

RWC 2023 will see Chile and Argentina in the same pool. Their match in Nantes will be officiated in English because World Rugby did not appoint a Spanish-Speaking referee on the panel.

 

URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Bautista Basso, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Nicolás Freitas, 15 Baltazar Amaya

Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Felipe Berchesi, 22 Gastón Mieres, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Augusto Bohme, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Javier Eissmann, 5 Pablo Huete, 6 Clemente Saavedra, 7 Ignacio Silva, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Fernández (capt.), 11 Santiago Videla, 12 Matías Garafulic, 13 Pablo Casas, 14 Cristóbal Game, 15 Iñaki Ayarza

Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Joaquín Milesi, 21 Raimundo Martínez, 22 Lukas Carvallo, 23 Francisco Urroz

 

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023 – WARM-UP
Date: Saturday, July 29
Kick-Off: 4:45pm (UY); 3:45pm (CL)
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo (UY)
Referee: Luke Pearce (UK)
Assistant Referees: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (AR); Damian Schneider (AR)
Broadcast: ESPN (Latina Americana); Star +

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HISTORICAL RESULTS
July 18, 2021 – Uruguay 15-10 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 09, 2019 – Uruguay 20-05 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 24, 2018 – Chile 15-67 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 27, 2017 – Uruguay 27-11 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Mar 04, 2017 – Uruguay 45-14 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 07, 2016 – Uruguay 39-14 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 27, 2016 – Chile 20-23 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 09, 2015 – Chile 30-15 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 10, 2014 – Uruguay 55-13 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 04, 2013 – Uruguay 23-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 23, 2012 – Chile 26-27 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 20, 2011 – Uruguay 18-21 Chile (Puerto Iguazú, AR)
May 19, 2010 – Chile 19-36 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 02, 2009 – Uruguay 46-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Nov 22, 2008 – Uruguay 46-12 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Aug 25, 2007 – Chile 34-35 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Jul 22, 2006 – Uruguay 43-15 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 11, 2005 – Uruguay 34-25 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
May 01, 2004 – Chile 13-20 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Apr 27, 2003 – Uruguay 20-13 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Jul 27, 2002 – Chile 10-06 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Jul 09, 2002 – Uruguay 34-23 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 01, 2002 – Uruguay 33-16 Chile (Mendoza, AR)
Oct 13, 2001 – Uruguay 26-07 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Nov, 12, 2000 – Uruguay 11-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Apr 04, 1998 – Chile 14-20 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Aug 24, 1997 – Uruguay 32-17 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 24, 1995 – Chile 13-31 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Oct 09, 1993 – Uruguay 14-06 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 20, 1992 – Uruguay 37-15 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 08, 1991 – Chile 18-34 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Nov 04, 1990 – Chile 27-33 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Dec 10, 1989 – Uruguay 19-17 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 30, 1987 – Chile 19-33 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Sep 21, 1985 – Uruguay 09-03 Chile (Asunción, PY)
Jul 20, 1983 – Uruguay 25-03 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
May 24, 1981 – Uruguay 33-03 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct 12, 1979 – Uruguay 09-09 Chile (Santiago, CL)
Oct 27, 1977 – Uruguay 21-10 Chile (Tucumán, AR)
Sep 25, 1975 – Uruguay 07-15 Chile (Asunción, PY)
Oct 14, 1973 – Uruguay 13-10 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
Oct 12, 1971 – Uruguay 06-11 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct 08, 1969 – Chile 13-06 Uruguay (Viña del Mar, CL)
Sep 24, 1967 – Uruguay 11-16 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
Aug 18, 1964 – Uruguay 15-08 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
Oct 12, 1961 – Uruguay 05-28 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct, 11 1958 – Chile 34-09 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Sep 16, 1951 – Uruguay 08-03 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
Aug 05, 1948 – Uruguay 03-21 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)

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OVERALL RESULTS
Uruguay 38 Wins
Chile 10 Wins
Draws 1