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Chile ended their long winter wait by facing Scotland on Saturday in Santiago. The international was listed in Chile as a test match though Scotland played as Scotland ‘A’ making it a non-capped fixture. The visiting side were 45-5 winners in a match that the level between the sides was evident, though there were signs throughout the contest that Chile is on track to fight for the Americas 2 against the USA.
Chile battled hard against Scotland ‘A’ early on. It saw no scoring for the opening ten minutes. This changed in the 12th minute. Scotland ‘A’ went from one side of the field to another from a lineout. It saw Ollie Smith in space and Damien Hoyland finishing it off. The score was the first of three for the match for Hoyland.
Scotland ‘A’ scored again four minutes later. A mid-field break from Luke Crosbie culminated in the first of two first half tries to scrum-half George Horne. His second try followed soon after as Scotland ‘A’ had three quick-fire tries and a 21-0 lead after 22 minutes.
Chile were unable to hold on to the ball. Scotland. Scotland ‘A’ were either raiding or looking to create match-ups with backs against forwards and vice-versa. When they closed in on another try, it was denied; N8 Alfonso Escobar held Jamie Bhatti up in the try zone.
Hoyland completed his hat-trick early in the second-half. It was the only score until the final minutes. Scotland ‘A’ appeared to be tired following their explosive opening half performance. Chile also deserve credit for holding them out on multiple occasions in the second half.
The second try of the second half went to Los Cóndores. Santiago Videla put on the afterburners only to be stopped a meter short by Ali Price. Santiago Edwards was on hand to pick up and barge over for Chile’s try. The score made it 33-5 with less than two minutes remaining.
Scotland ‘A’ hit-back not once but twice. Rufus McLean and Price both dotted down. Chile were beaten by more than they ought to have been, though they finished with thirteen men due to injuries following an emptied bench. Regardless, the story of the match was how far Los Cóndores have come in quick time.
The match was the first time Los Cóndores have played against a Six Nations team since 1954. Moving ahead additional matches against teams touring Argentina are certainly possible. Scotland now cross the Andes to face Argentina in a three match series of test matches. Game one is next Saturday in Jujuy.
SCORING
CHILE (5)
Try – S Edwards (78′)
Con – F Urroz 0/1
SCOTLAND ‘A’ (45)
Try – D Hoyland 3 (12′, 28′, 45′), G Horne 2 (17′, 22′) R McLean (80′), A Price (80′)
Con – R Thompson 5/5 (13′, 17′, 24′, 29′, 45′); B Kinghorn 1/2
TEAMS
CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Tomás Dussaillant, 3 Vittorio Lastra, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Santiago Edwards, 7 Ignacio Silva, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Fernández (capt.), 11 Matías Garafulic, 12 Iñaki Ayarza, 13 Pablo Casas, 14 Nicolas Garafulic, 15 Francisco Urroz
Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 19 Thomas Orchard, 20 Raimundo Martínez, 21 José Larenas, 22 Santiago Videla, 23 Ignacio Herreros
SCOTLAND ‘A’
1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Dave Cherry, 3 Javan Sebastian, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Ben Muncaster, 7 Luke Crosbie, 8 Matt Fagerson, 9 George Horne, 10 Ross Thompson, 11 Rufus McLean, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 13 Matt Currie, 14 Damien Hoyland, 15 Ollie Smith
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Glen Young, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Ali Price, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Mark Bennett
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant Refeees: Francisco Gonzalez (Uruguay); Talal Chaudhry (Canada)
ATTENDANCE: 8,213
