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Chile wrote history on Saturday. Los Cóndores were 28-0 winners over the Argentina XV. The uncapped match was the Chilean Senior Men’s team up against Argentina’s next-of-XV. It was Chile’s second win over the Argentina XV and by a much larger margin than the 2021 result.
| RESULT IMPLICATIONS |
Played at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca, Chile’s win saw the home side’s forwards outmuscle the Argentina XV. It notably came six days after the Argentina XV made light work of Brazil. The 64-29 win over Os Tupis follows Brazil’s record-breaking 77-17 win over Paraguay.
Chile’s biggest win was against Paraguay in 2003. Los Cóndores were 102-0 winners the day. The results in South America thus far in 2024 suggest that the record is now under threat. Chile play host to Paraguay on September 28 and Brazil on October 05. Chile is all-placd to advance to face Uruguay, and await two other teams, in the final round of South American Rugby World Cup Qualifiers in 2025.
| MATCH SUMMARY |
The Argentina XV were outperformed. Pablo Lemoine’s team played with continuity while the Esteban Meneses coached side did not. Chilean captain Martín Sigren led by example. After raids on the Argentina XV try zone, Sigren went over from close range. Tomás Salas converted for a 7-0 lead after three minutes.
Before the Argentina XV could regroup and reset, Chile scored their second try. Like the first, Chile’s forwards closed in on the try zone from an attacking lineout. Carries from the forwards and mid-fielders was finished off by Nicolás Garafulic hitting the line with speed. His angle saw him slicing through and he had the power to get over.
The third try came with time up in the opening half. Following a break down the left, and recycling, Gonzalo Jara off-loaded to Benjamín Videla who scored. Tomás Salas rounded-off a solid Chilean 40 minutes of rugby to make it 21-0.
The second-half was different to the fist but similar in one crucial manner: Chile scored all of the points. The one try came seven minutes from full-time. The Argentina XV lost the ball on attack from which Chile kicked ahead and chased. Sloppy break-down work from the Argentina XV followed enabling the ball to pop out and Nicolás Garafulic to score his second. Juan Cruz Reves converted for a 28-0 lead.
The Argentina XV looked like scoring late in the match. Replacement Juan Bautista Baronio broke and passed only for the support runner to bump the ball forward. It was a fitting end to a forgettable performance from the visitors.
| SCORING |
CHILE (28)
Try (4) – M Sigren (2′); N Garafulic 2 (8′, 72′); B Videla (40′)
Con (4) – T Salas (3′, 9′, 40′); JC Reves (73′)
YC (1) – D Saavedra (55′)
ARGENTINA XV (0)
YC (2) – L Asevedo (40′); F García Hamilton (69′)
| LINE-UPS |
CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Bruno Sáez, 5 Javier Eissman, 6 Martín Sigren (capt.), 7 Alfonso Escobar, 8 Clemente Saavedra, 9 Benjamín Videla, 10 Tomás Salas, 11 Nicolás Garafulic, 12 Nicolás Saab, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Cristóbal Game, 15 Luca Strabucchi
Replacements: 16 Salvador Lues, 17 Simón Donoso, 18 Baltazar Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 José Miguel Contreras, 21 Raimundo Martínez, 22 Marcelo Torrealba, 23 Gonzalo Jara, 24 Juan Cruz Reves, 25 Ernesto Tchimino
ARGENTINA XV
1 Boris Wenger, 2 Leonel Oviedo, 3 Tomás Rapetti, 4 Franco Carrera, 5 Luciano Asevedo, 6 Facundo García Hamilton, 7 Manuel Bernstein (capt.), 8 Joaquín Moro, 9 Eliseo Morales, 10 Santino Di Lucca, 11 Jerónimo Ulloa, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 13 Bruno Heit, 14 Santiago Pernas, 15 Mateo Soler
Replacements: 16 Juan Ignacio Greising Revol, 17 Guillermo Durán, 18 Francisco Moreno, 19 Javier Coronel, 20, Juan Cruz Pérez Rachel, 21 Aitor Bildosola, 22 Agustín Moyano, 23 Leonardo Gea Salim, 24 Juan Bautista Baronio, 25 Marcos Eliçagaray
| MATCH HIGHLIGHTS |
