Chile Fall to Scotland in front of Record Rugby Attendance

The first rugby test match between Chile and Scotland has come and gone. The Tier 1 side were firm favorites to win against the Tier 2 side and they got the job done. The final score of 52-11 came after Chile were 3-0 up at the close of the opening quarter and Scotland led 21-6 at half-time.

Los Cóndores played at the Estadio Nacional for the first time. The public responded as a Chilean record rugby attendance was set at 24,878. The crowd roared when Diego Escobar scored for Chile in the second-half. The replacement hooker’s try was Chile’s only score. Scotland scored eight tries with five coming in the second half.

Scotland looked sharp early on. Irishman Ben Healy made a break down the left. Chile’ defense regrouped to shut him down. It was an example of how a lot of the match would be played; Scotland made opportunities with Chile missing tackles but Los Cóndores were often able to recover.

Having gotten out of their own half Chile were subsequently awarded a penalty. Center Santiago Videla slotted a 10th minute penalty for the opening score.

Scotland’s response came on 22 minutes. The forwards went for a lineout to maul try but Chile defended it well. Phases followed with Englishman Josh Bayliss scoring beside the posts. Healy converted but hi opposite swiftly responded. Tomás Salas made it 7-6 to Scotland after 27 minutes.

The guests then scored twice, both from penalties kicked to the corner. For the first, Australian Sione Tuipulotu ran hard straight up the field. Quick ball followed with Healy finding Kyle Rowe. For the second, Healy set-up Jamie Dobie who scored in the corner.

Dobie added a second to open the second-half. Scotland were 26-6 had after 46 minutes. The crowed erupted four minutes later. Salas kicked a 50-22 for Chile from which the forwards delivered a lineout to maul move with Diego Escobar subsequently crashing over. Chile were down 26-11 but had succeeded in giving the 24,878 attendance a memorable score.

Scotland scored all there remaining points. Matt Currie, Kyle Rowe, and South Africans Dylan Richardson and Kyle Steyn scored. Chilean captain Martín Sigren summed it up by saying that a lot of Scotland’s tries were from his players or team not reacting fast enough.

The pace of Scotland is where Chile ned to aim for as the team continues to improve for the Rugby World Cup 2027 qualifiers. Chile’s progress is evident and Tuipulotu praised Chile’s improvement, saying Chile are notably more physical now than was the case for Chile vs Scotland ‘A’ from two years ago.

SCORING

CHILE (11)
Try (1) – D Escobar (49′)
Pen (2) – S Videla (10′); T Salas (26′)

SCOTLAND (52)
Try (8) – J Bayliss (21′); K Rowe 2 (29′, 63′); J Dobie 2 (33′, 45′); M Currie (56′); D Richardson (73′); K Steyn (80′)
Con (6) – B Healy 3 (22′, 29′, 34′); A Hastings 3 (57′, 64′, 80′)

LINEUPS

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Augusto Bohme, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Lucas Berti, 10 Tomás Salas, 11 Nicolás Garafulic, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Cristóbal Game, 15 Diego Warnken

Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Joaquín Milesi, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Benjamín Videla, 23 José Ignacio Larenas

SCOTLAND
1 Nathan McBeth, 2 Dylan Richardson, 3 Will Hurd, 4 Alex Craig, 5 Ewan Johnson, 6 Gregor Brown, 7 Jamie Ritchie (co-capt.) 8 Josh Bayliss, 9 Gus Warr, 10 Ben Healy, 11 Aaron Reed, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 13 Kyle Steyn, 14 Jamie Dobie, 15 Kyle Rowe

Replacements: 16. Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Rory Darge, 21 Adam Hastings, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Matt Currie

 

MATCH VIDEO

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Gonzalo De Achaval (Argentina); Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)