November Internationals 2024 – Scotland A vs Chile – ARN Guide

Chile end 2024 with a trip to Edinburgh to face Scotland A on Saturday. The match is the second of its kind and the third overall between Los Cóndores and Scotland’s test team of next-of-XV. Chile’s third stop in Europe comes after a big win over Canada in Bucharest and a humiliating loss against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

 

FORM GUIDE

1st Match since 2002.

Current World Ranking: 21 (61.72 points)
2024-07-06 – Chile 22-17 Hong Kong (Talca, CL)
2024-07-13 – Chile 33-5 Belgium (Viña del Mar, CL)
2024-07-20 – Chile 11-52 Scotland (Santiago, CL)
2024-09-14 – Chile 28-0 Argentina XV (Talca, CL)
2024-09-28 – Chile 64-0 Paraguay (Santiago, CL)
2024-10-06 – Chile 36-10 Brazil (Santiago, CL)
2024-11-09 – Chile 44-14  Canada (Bucharest, RO)
2024-11-16 – Nertherlands 20-17 Chile (Amsterdam, NL)

LINE-UP CHANGES +

1st Match since 2002.

2 Diego Escobar, replaces Augusto Böhme
5 Bruno Sáez replaces Clemente Saavedra
7 Clemente Saavedra moves from 5; replaces Raimundo Martínez
8 Alfonso Escobar replaces Ernesto Tchimino
10 Juan Cruz Reyes replaces Rodrigo Fernández
11 Matías Garafulic moves from 14; replaces Nicolás Garafulic
14 Cristóbal Game, replaces Matías Garafulic
15 Luca Strabucchi replaces Iñaki Ayarza

 

NOTES

• Scotland A last played in 2022. They defeated Los Cóndores 45-5 in Santiago del Chile.
• Chile hosted Scotland in a test-match this past July. Scotland won 52-11 with 24,878 in attendance.
• A week after scoring for Scotland against Portugal, Stafford McDowall captains Scotland A vs Chile.
• McDowall is one of eight players who defeated Portugal 59-21 who will play for Scotland A against Chile.
• Loose Head Jamie Bhatti scored his first test try last weekend against Portugal.
• Center Mosese Tuipulotu follows his brother Sione Tuipulotu in defecting from Australia to Scotland.
• Second-rower Ewan Johnson plays his rugby for Oyonnax in the Pro D2. Arron Reed plays for Sale Sharks. All 21 others play for Edinburgh or Glasgow Warriors.
• Reed played for England u18 and u20 before defecting to Scotland. Another Englishman, Marshall Sykes is grandparent qualified for Scotland. Tom Dodd and Ewan Johnson are from England, though Johnson was raised in France. Ben Healy is from Ireland and had over 50 senior appearances for Munster before defecting to Scotland.
• Chile started November with a record 44-14 over Canada. Los Cóndores learned the ultimate lesson of humility next up against the Netherlands.
• Pablo Lemoine has responded to the defeat to the Dutch with sweeping changes. This includes more size with Clemente Saavedra moving from second-row to flanker.
• Matías Dittus is back as a replacement. He was forced out late against the Netherlands. This left Chile with a man down on the bench.
• Juan Cruz Reyes is the only non-homegrown Cóndores player. He is from Mendoza, Argentina.
• The entirety team of match officials are Italian. Gianluca Gnecchi will referee entirely in English.

PREDICTION

Heavy rainfall and potential snow await the teams in Edinburgh. The conditions are certain to restrict the ability of the teams to play attacking rugby. The battle of the forwards will be critical to the creation of point scoring opportunities. Win, lose, or draw this match is not about the result for Chile. Los Cóndores are on tour to prepare for Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifiers. Chile are looking to mastermind a plan to defeat Uruguay for the South America 1 spot. Scotland A are favorites to win at home.

 

LINEUPS

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Bruno Sáez, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Clemente Saavedra, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Benjamín Videla, 10 Juan Cruz Reyes, 11 Matías Garafulic, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Cristóbal Game, 15 Luca Strabucchi

Replacements: 16 Augusto Böhme, 17 Norman Aguayo, 18 Matías Dittus, 19 Raimundo Martínez, 20 Ernesto Tchimino, 21 Marcelo Torrealaba, 22 Rodrigo Fernández, 23 Nicolás Garafulic

SCOTLAND
1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 4 Marshall Sykes, 5 Ewan Johnson, 6 Tom Dodd (vice-capt.), 7 Freddy Douglas, 8 Ben Muncaster, 9 Jamie Dobie (vice-captain.), 10 Ross Thompson, 11 Ross McCann, 12 Stafford McDowall (capt.), 13 Mosese Tuipulotu, 14 Matt Currie, 15 Arron Reed

Replacements: 16. Harri Morris, 17 Mikey Jones, 18 Fin Richardson, 19 Jare Oguntibeju, 20 Liam McConnell, 21 Ben Afshar, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Jack Brown

 

MATCH DETAILS

Date: Saturday, November 23
Venue: Hive Stadium (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Kickoff: 6pm (GB-SCO); 3pm (CL)
Weather Forecast: Cold, Rain; 7 (Celsius); Wind 26 km/h
Broadcasts: ESPN; Disney +

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (Italy); Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

 

HISTORY vs

Jun 20, 2024 – Chile 11-52 Scotland ‘A’ (Santiago, CL)
Jun 25, 2022 – Chile 05-45 Scotland ‘A’ (Santiago, CL)