José Ignacio Larenas becomes first player to 50 caps for Chile

José Ignacio Larenas Hitschfeld will make history on Saturday. The Cóndor will become the first-ever player to earn 50 test caps for Chile. Larenas will start on the wing for Chile against Argentina in the Pool D World Cup match in Nantes.

Larenas reaches the mark of 50 caps two weeks after his 34th birthday. It took him twelve years of international duty for Chile to reach the mark. This is an indication of the comparative lack of rugby played by Chile compared to most teams competing at the World Cup.

Capable of playing center or wing, Larenas made his test debut for Chile against Portugal in 2012. Los Cóndores were beaten 28-22 in Santiago that day. Larenas played at inside center. Fellow Rugby World Cup 2023 Cóndores Pablo Huete and Ignacio Silva both also featured in the match for Chile.

Silva has been named as a replacement against Argentina on Sunday while Huete misses out. With 41 caps, Silva is Chile’s second-most capped player on the World Cup roster. Huete has 33 caps while Tomás Dussaillant, who debuted much later, has 39. Captain Martín Sigren is the fifth most capped player on the roster with 30 caps.

Larenas was born and raised in Santiago. He has played professional rugby in South America for Selknam. He is a product of Club Deportivo Universidad Católica in Santiago.

His 50 test caps have come against seventeen countries. He has caps against Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Namibia, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, Uruguay and the USA. He also played in the non-capped match against Scotland XV in 2022.

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The following table lists he most capped Cóndores of all-time. It lists the players per position, the years of their involvement for Chile and the number of test caps. The caps are listed before the match against Argentina.