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After a long wait, Spain and Chile return to international competition. Saturday’s test match in Madrid is the first between Los Leones and Los Cóndores since 2019 and just the seventh overall. The two teams will square off in a World Rugby Nations Cup match with eyes on a victory as well as continuing their progression towards the ultimate goal of winning a match at Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
The teams enter Saturday’s battle with contrasting momentum from their 2026 campaigns. Spain has enjoyed a productive year under Pablo Bouza, securing Rugby Europe Championship victories over the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Romania, drawing 42-42 with Canada, defeating Tonga in North America, and beating Uruguay 18-12 last weekend. Chile, meanwhile, posted home victories over Romania and Hong Kong in July alongside a loss to Georgia, before returning to action last weekend and falling 36–15 to Portugal in Lisbon.
The progress of both teams underscores the impact of structured professional pathways and high-performance investment. Chile’s rise has been centered on Selknam in Super Rugby Americas (SRA) alongside a growing contingent of players competing in France as well as Major League Rugby (MLR). Spain has followed a parallel trajectory, combining its domestic División de Honor high-performance centers with an influx of French-based professionals who bring Top 14 and Pro D2 physicality directly into the national setup.
Beyond the competition points, fixtures like Saturday’s offer a valuable platform to strengthen sporting ties between Chile and Spain, as well as broader links between South American and European rugby. Shared language, cultural familiarity, and overlapping player pathways create natural opportunities for regular test matches, club exchanges, and coaching collaboration that benefit both Spain and Chile.
All of this preparation feeds directly into Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia, where both sides are chasing a historic first World Cup match victory. Drawn into Pool C alongside Argentina, Fiji, and Canada, Spain will target Canada in Townsville as its prime opportunity to claim a maiden win on rugby’s grandest stage. Chile faces a daunting Pool A featuring three-time champions New Zealand and hosts Australia, making its clash with Rugby World Cup debutants Hong Kong in Townsville the must-win target for Los Cóndores.
| FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 16 (67.73 points)
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 7 Feb | Netherlands | Win | 51–33 | NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam |
| Sat 14 Feb | Switzerland | Win | 53–14 | Campos de Pepe Rojo, Valladolid |
| Sat 21 Feb | Georgia | Loss | 30–42 | Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi |
| Sun 8 Mar | Portugal | Loss | 7–26 | Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon |
| Sun 15 Mar | Romania | Win | 29–23 | Estadio Ontime Butarque, Leganés |
| Sat 4 Jul | Canada | Draw | 42–42 | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton |
| Sat 11 Jul | Tonga | Win | 32–19 | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton |
| Sat 18 Jul | USA | Loss | 22–29 | WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary |
| Sat 7 Nov | Uruguay | Win | 18–12 | Estadio Nacional Universidad Complutense, Madrid |
Current World Ranking: 18 (65.81 points)
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Mar | Italy XV | Loss | 26–33 | Stadio Tommaso Fattori, L’Aquila |
| Sun 5 Jul | Paraguay (CL XV) | Win | 52–19 | CARR, Santiago |
| Sat 5 Jul | Romania | Win | 48–31 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago |
| Fri 10 Jul | Paraguay (CL XV) | Loss | 24–43 | CARR, Santiago |
| Sun 12 Jul | Hong Kong | Win | 38–17 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago |
| Sat 18 Jul | Georgia | Loss | 22–49 | Parque Mahuida, La Reina |
| Sat 29 Aug | Uruguay XV (CL XV) | Win | 33–12 | Estadio CAP Acero, Talcahuano |
| Wed 2 Sep | Paraguay (CL XV) | Win | 54–26 | Estadio La Pintana, Santiago |
| Sun 6 Sep | Argentina XV (CL XV) | Win | 28–27 | Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso |
| Sat 7 Nov | Portugal | Loss | 15–36 | Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon |
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Hugo Pirlet | Thierry Futeu Youtcheu |
| 2 | Álvaro García | Santiago Ovejero |
| 3 | Joel Merkler | Jon Zabala |
| 6 | Gabri Vélez | Matt Foulds |
| 7 | Matt Foulds | Manex Ariceta |
| 10 | Lucien Richardis | Bautista Güemes |
| 11 | Alberto Carmona | Alejandro Laforga |
| 12 | Alvar Gimeno | Yago Fernández |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Diego Escobar | Augusto Böhme |
| 6 | Ernesto Tchimino | Clemente Saavedra |
| 11 | Nicolás Saab | Felipe Méndez |
| 12 | Iñaki Ayarza | Domingo Saavedra |
| DEBUT |
– Gauthier Maravat
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Asier Usárraga (LO), Facundo Domínguez (FL) Ekain Imaz (FL), Kerman Aurrekoetxea (SH)
– Javier Carrasco (LH), Salvador Lues (LH), Emilio Shea (TH), Martín Sigren (FL), Juan Bianchi (SH), Tomás Salas (FH), Cristóbal Game (WI), Luca Strabucchi (FB)
| NOTES |
- Both teams are coached by former Rugby World Cup players. Pablo Bouza was a Puma while Pablo Lemoine played for his native Uruguay.
- Spain has won all four meetings against Chile this century (2007, 2013, 2015, and 2019), after losing on its first two tours of South America in 1995 and 2000.
- The one previous match in Spain was in November 2015 in Torrelavega, with Los Leones winning 54–10.
- Chile’s last win in Europe was a 44–14 victory vs Canada in 2024 in Bucharest, Romania.
- Spain’s 23 totals 462 caps. The starting XV accounts for 364 caps (an average of 24.3 per player). The replacements add a further 98 caps, anchored by Jon Zabala with 36 caps.
- Center Álvar Gimeno is the most experienced with 55 caps.
- Second-rower Gauthier Maravat will debut for Los Leones as a replacement. He plays for Castres in the Top 14 and was a 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship winner with France.
- Pablo Bouza has an all-changed front row. Álvaro García comes in as captain with fellow Top 14 player, Joel Merkler starts at tight head.
- The revolving door continues in the centers with Iñaki Ayarza joining Santiago Videla and Domingo Saavedra moving to the replacements.
- Racing 92 hooker Diego Escobar returns to replace Augusto Böhme following Top 14 rugby last weekend.
- Marco Alvano, who captained Chile U20 to the World Rugby U20 Trophy title, is named among the replacements in place of Clemente Armstrong.
- Chile’s 23 totals 620 caps with 408 of them in the starting line-up (an average of 27.2 per player).
- Santiago Videla is Chile’s most capped active player with 47 caps. He will soon become just the second-ever Cóndor to reach the milestone of 50 caps.
- Los Cóndores have the highest ruck retention rate on their own ball in the Nations Cup (97.7%).
- Martiniano Cian has been a stand-out for Spain surpassing the 200-meter mark in post-contact meters (229) and holding a 59% tackle-evasion rate.
- Hollie Davidson leads the referee team. The officials are all British and, despite it being Spain vs Chile, they will not officiate in Spanish.
| PREDICTION |
Under Pablo Bouza, Spain plays physically assertive rugby that is built on a stable set-piece, aggressive contact, and transitional counter-attacking. Bouza has leveraged Spain’s growing contingent of French-based forwards to solidify the scrum and maul, allowing more time for the play makers to create opportunities for the centers and back-three. In contrast, Pablo Lemoine’s Chile operates a game plan with breakdown pressure, and creative, multi-phase continuity. Los Cóndores tend to keep the ball alive through offloads and by targeting blindside channels. Spain are favorites to win in Madrid.
| LINE-UPS |
SPAIN
1 Hugo Pirlet (12 caps), Álvaro García (capt. – 22 caps), 3 Joel Merkler (12 caps), 4 Ignacio Piñeiro (25 caps), 5 Antonio Suárez (5 caps), 6 Gabri Vélez (3 caps), 7 Matt Foulds (45 caps), 8 Rapha Nieto (18 caps), 9 Estanislao Bay (36 caps), 10 Lucien Richardis (5 caps), 11 Alberto Carmona (23 caps), 12 Alvar Gimeno (55 caps), 13 Iñaki Mateu (38 caps), 14 Martiniano Cian (28 caps), 15 John Wessel Bell (37 caps)
Replacements: 16 Diego González (3 caps), Lucas Santamaría (21 caps), 18 Jon Zabala (36 caps), 19 Gauthier Maravat (uncapped), 20 Vicente Boronat (17 caps), 21 Manex Ariceta (13 caps), 22 Nico Infer (2 caps), 23 Alejandro Laforga (6 caps)
CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra (25 caps), 2 Diego Escobar (22 caps), 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga (32 caps), 4 Santiago Pedrero (28 caps), 5 Javier Eissmann (41 caps), 6 Ernesto Tchimino (15 caps), 7 Raimundo Martínez (33 caps), 8 Alfonso Escobar (37 caps), 9 Benjamín Videla (14 caps), 10 Rodrigo Fernández (38 caps), 11 Nicolás Saab (12 caps), 12 Iñaki Ayarza (30 caps), 13 Santiago Videla (capt. – 47 caps), 14 Manuel Bustamante (4 caps), 15 Matías Garafulic (30 caps)
Replacements: 16 Augusto Böhme (38 caps), 17 Norman Aguayo (7 caps), 18 Matías Dittus (43 caps), 19 Bruno Sáez (14 caps), 20 Clemente Saavedra (43 caps), 21 Marcelo Torrealba (25 caps), 22 Domingo Saavedra (41 caps), 23 Marco Alvano (1 cap)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, November 14
Kickoff: 5:00pm (ES); 1:00pm (CL)
Venue: Estadio Ontime Butarque, Leganés (Spain)
Broadcasts: Disney+ (Latin America), Paramount+ (USA), Movistar (Spain), RugbyPass TV (Rest of World)
Weather Forecast: Light Rain. 12°C. Wind SW 13 mph
| MATCH OFFICIALS |
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), George Selwood (England)
Television Match Official: Dan Jones (England)
| HISTORY vs (1995-2026) |
| Date | Match Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-15 | Chile 22-29 Spain | Curicó (CL) |
| 2015-11-21 | Spain 54-10 Chile | Torrelavega (ES) |
| 2013-11-09 | Chile 3-26 Spain | Santiago (CL) |
| 2007-08-18 | Spain 30-25 Chile | Madrid (ES) |
| 1999-08-24 | Chile 20-18 Spain | Santiago (CL) |
| 1995-09-24 | Chile 28-23 Spain | Santiago (CL) |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD vs |
Spain: 4 Wins
Chile: 2 Wins
