After months of negotiations it has now been confirmed that Chile will play two test matches in November. Specialist Chilean Rugby website Rugbiers has announced that Los Cóndores will play host to Korea in two test matches.
The official test matches are to be played on Saturday November 12 and Saturday November 19. The first of which will be played in Viña del Mar and the second in Santiago.
The two-match series has been put together by FERUCHI together with the South Korean Rugby Federation and World Rugby. It is to serve the interests of all parties. For Chile it is to be vital preparation ahead of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship. For the Asians it will likewise prepare them for the Asian Rugby Championship.
The tour will help clarify the global standings of both countries. In current World Rugby Rankings the countries are 28th and 29th in the world. The South American country will thereby go into November with a slight advantage in rankings to go with playing at home.
Additional interest in the tour comes from the teams never having played against each other. Their prior international matches have been at junior level. They faced-off in Kenya in 2009 as part of the World Rugby Junior World Trophy. Chile won the match 49-21.
Featuring in the 2009 match was Bayonne second-rower Pablo Huete. He and other professional players will be made available for international duty, if selected, in November.