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Just two days out from Chile’s historic Rugby World Cup debut the team has been hit with devastating news. Winger Nicolás Garafulic has been ruled out of the tournament. Nicolás Garafulic turns next week.
The older of the Garafulic brothers, Nicolás Garafulic has been a regular for Chile throughout the Rugby World Cup 2019-2023 cycle. His involvement with Los Cóndores dats back further; he made his debut against Brazil in 2018.
Nicolás Garafulic comes from the COBS club in Santiago. He is a tall winger. He stands 1.93m (6ft 4) and weighs 103kg (225 lbs). His size saw him convert to N8 for Selknam in the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) season. He was highly impressive there when the Chileans had a shortfall in the position.
The 19 time capped Garafulic has been replaced by Cristóbal Game Jiménez. The players are identical in height but Game Jiménez is lighter at 92kg (200 lbs). Game Jiménez made his test debut for Chile against Uruguay in the recent Rugby World Cup warm-ups.
That match is presently Cristóbal Game Jiménez’s only cap. He has plenty of experience for Los Cóndores 7’s and has also played for Selknam. The 23-year-old Game Jiménez is from the Old Johns club in the southern Chilean city of Concepción.
Debido a lesión de Nicolás Garafulic Schar, Cristóbal Game Jiménez se suma a Los Cóndores en Francia 2023 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/Fjroj11Qfm
— ☆ CHILE RUGBY (@chilerugby) September 8, 2023
