Chile defeat Brazil in Rugby World Cup Qualifying

Chile’s quest to qualify for back-to-back Rugby World Cups was boosted on Saturday. Los Cóndores defeated Brazil in São Paulo to now be well-placed in the two-match series. The 35-21 win gives Chile a +14 advantage ahead of the return match next Saturday in Santiago. The winner, on aggregate, will advance to the South American Final to determine who goes to Australia 2027 as South America 1.

Santiago Videla opened the point scoring. The Chilean inside center landed a penalty on 10 minutes. It came after Brazil had looked good early on. Os Tupis were more than rewarded though as debutant Raphael Hollister scored the game’s first try. The English player’s try was converted by Argentine Thiago Oviedo who was also on debut. Both qualify for Brazil via a parent.

Oviedo landed the conversion to give Brazil a 7-3 lead. Scoring resumed in the second quarter. It was Chile who scored next with Iñaki Gurruchaga doing so from a maul. Hooker Diego Escobar gave Los Cóndores back-to-back tries and Videla converted both.

Chile then powered out to a comfortable lead. Back-rower Alfonso Escobar’s try and Videla’s conversion put Chile 25-7 ahead. The result was all but secured; yet, Brazil never gave up and made sure the match was competitive for 80 minutes.

Second-rower Matteo Dell’acqua scored for Brazil with Oviedo converting. Brazil then had a serious problem as captain Cleber Días was yellow carded with Chile also awarded a penalty try. Videla extended Chile’s lead to 35-14.

With time up, Brazil scored through Gabriel Oliveira. Oviedo converted for a final score of 35-21 in favor of the visitors. The try followed that of Dell’Acqua’s earlier in the match which saw two of Brazil’s three tries being score by second-rowers.

The teams will meet again on Saturday, July 26. Chile will have home advantage against Brazil at Parque Mahuida in La Reina, Santiago. Brazil need to win by +15. Any other result will see Chile through to the South American Final.

MATCH NOTES

• Chile made their Rugby World Cup debut in France 2023.
• Brazil has never qualified for a Men’s Rugby World Cup.
• Argentine Thiago Oviedo made his test debut for Brazil at fly half and Englishman Raphael Hollister debuted at inside center. Both men meet eligibility requirements via a parent.
• International competition between Brazil and Chile began in 1951.

SCORING

BRAZIL (21)
TRY – R Hollister, M Dell’Acqua, G Oliveira
CON – T Oviedo (3)

CHILE (35)
TRY – I Gurruchaga, D Escobar, A Escobar; Penal Try
CON – S Videla (2); No Kick (1)
PEN – S Videla (3)

LINE-UPS

BRAZIL
1 Brandon Alves, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 3 Leonel Moreno, 4 Ben Donald, 5 Mateo Dell’acqua, 6 Matheus Cláudio, 7 Cleber Días (capt.), 8 André Arruda, 9 Lucas Spago, 10 Thiago Oviedo, 11 Lorenzo Massari Temer, 12 Raphael Hollister, 13 Carlo Mignot, 14 Robert Tenório, 15 João do Amaral

Replacements: 16 Henrique Ferreira, 17 Aquiles Schulter, 18 Tiago Gonçalves dos Santos, 19 Gabriel Oliveira, 20 Adrio de Melo, 21 Rodolfo Martins, 22 Felipe Gonçalves, 23 Lucas Tranquez

CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Lucas Berti, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Nicolás Saab, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Matías Garafulic, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Iñaki Ayarza

Replacements: 16 Norman Aguayo, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Matías Dittus, 19 Bruno Sáez, 20 Joaquín Milesi, 21 Juan Cruz Reyes, 22 Luca Strabucchi, 23 Ernesto Tchimino

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Pablo De Luca (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Federico Longobardi (Argentina), Sergio Alvarenga (Paraguay)
TMO: Francisco Pesce (Uruguai)