Chile national rugby union team

Early history (1890s - 1959)

Rugby was introduced in Chile roughly around the late 19th century, as it was in other parts of South America by British immigrants who arrived in ports.^[1] The first recorded rugby game taking place on Chilean soil was in 1894, from British immigrants who lived in both Santiago, Iquique and Valparaíso. Until the 1930s, the game was initially mostly played by the British-descended community of Chile.^[2] In 1935, the Chilean Rugby Federation was founded.

Chile's first ever fixtures were against Argentina in September 1936, a two-game series played in the capital Santiago. Chile lost both of their games by scorelines of 0 to 20 and 3 to 31, respectively. Chile would visit Argentina in 1938 in Buenos Aires, losing 3 to 33. Chile would not play another fixture until 1948, where they beat Uruguay 21 to 3 in Buenos Aires.

The Chilean team began competing more consistently in the 1950s. In 1951, Chile played the first South American Rugby Championship against Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in 1951; Chile finished third, beating Brazil by a margin of 68 to nil, but losing to both Uruguay and Argentina. In 1952, Chile received Ireland on tour, but in Santiago 30 to 0. Chile would play another Five Nations side, this time France on tour, but lost 34-3. In 1958, Chile participated in the second South American Rugby Championship, finishing second; Chile easily beat both Peru and Uruguay before falling to Argentina, finishing second.

1960s - 1980s

By the 1960s Chile saw itself established as a middle contender in South America. Chile were consistently beating sides like Brazil and Uruguay, but couldn't breakthrough against the mighty Argentina. In 1966, Chile received the Springboks, their first test against a SANZAR side, but lost 72 to 0. During the 1970s Chile didn't play any non-South American competition; for the most part Chile were finishing second or third in South America, usually beating Brazil and newcomers Paraguay, and dog fighting for second against Uruguay. In the 1980s, former coach of France Jean-Pierre Juanchich took over administration of rugby in Chile, which led to better promotion, awareness, and improvement in Chilean rugby. In 1989, a proper governing body for rugby in South America, CONSUR, was formed.

1990s - 2000s

Chile formally joined the International Rugby Board in 1991, allowing Chile to participate formally in World Cup competitions. In 1993, Chile participated in its first ever World Cup Qualifying competition in 1993, entering qualifying for the 1995 Rugby World Cup; however, they lost all their fixtures to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, finishing bottom of the group. In 1995, Chile played Spain, winning 28 - 23.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying campaign was more successful. Chile easily swept through a group containing the teams of Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago. However, Chile lost 14 to 20 against Uruguay, therefore missing out on a repechage spot, and potentially a spot in the World Cup.

In 2000, Chile came within 2 points of defeating Argentina. This improved form would continue through the early 2000s, easily disposing of Brazil in their first qualifier for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In the final round, a round robin containing Canada, Uruguay, and the United States, the Chileans won their first home fixture versus Uruguay before losing their next two to the USA and Canada. Despite this, Chile recorded an upset, defeating the United States 21 to 13 in Santiago. Despite being improved, Chile dropped their next two games, finishing the campaign with 2 wins and 4 losses. Unfortunately for Chile, they finished bottom on try difference, yet again missing out on a repechage spot, and potential qualification.

The 2007 qualifiers were mostly the same song as the previous campaigns; Chile swept their first round against Paraguay and Brazil but in the final group lost both their games to Argentina and Uruguay, which once again would have secured a repechage at least, and potentially an automatic spot in the World Cup.

The 2011 campaign was short-lived, having automatically been seeded into Round 3A of the qualifiers in the new format. Chile cruised to victory versus Brazil but once again lost to familiar foes Uruguay, and once again missing out on a potential repechage or automatic qualifier.

2010-present

In 2010, Chile nearly started the new decade with a bang, coming very close to defeating Oceania powerhouse Tonga, but losing 32–30. The following year in 2011, Chile beat Uruguay for the first time in nine years, winning 21–18 and finishing second in the South American Championship.

The decade has been marked by inconsistency in results. In 2013, Chile began their qualifying campaign, opening up with a victory versus Brazil, but yet again lost to foes Uruguay, following the same pattern of results since the 1999 campaign. In 2014, Chile reached a bottom point; in the 2014 South American Championship, they finished bottom of the group, losing to Brazil for the first time in their history. Chile were also wooden spooners in the 2014 CONSUR Cup, the new competition featuring Argentina and the top 2 sides in South America. However, the following year, Chile won the South American Championship for the first time in their history, cruising through both Brazil and Paraguay before defeating Uruguay at home 30–15.

In 2016, Chile participated in the first Americas Rugby Championship in its current format. Chile squeaked a home win versus Brazil, before playing a close game against Argentina before tiring out in the last 20 minutes, ultimately losing 52–15. Chile were blown out by the United States in Fort Lauderdale 64–0 before nearly beating Uruguay, losing 20–23. Chile lost their last game at home versus Canada, 64–13, finishing bottom in the inaugural edition.

In the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship, Chile was defeated in all five matches, scoring just four tries in the tournament. In the 2017 Cup of Nations, the team claimed a win over Kenya, while losing to Russia and Hong Kong.

Overall record

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 rankings as of 8 October 2018[3]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	092.96
2		Ireland	090.12
3		Wales	085.94
4		England	085.68
5		South Africa	083.52
6		Scotland	083.02
7		Australia	082.86
8		France	079.10
9		Argentina	078.01
10		Fiji	076.54
11		Japan	075.24
12		Tonga	073.84
13		Georgia	073.13
14		Italy	072.56
15		United States	071.66
16		Samoa	068.28
17		Romania	068.25
18		Uruguay	065.37
19		Russia	064.89
20		Spain	063.09
21		Hong Kong	060.46
22		Namibia	059.97
23		Canada	059.93
24		Portugal	058.30
25		Belgium	058.09
26		Brazil	056.81
27		Netherlands	056.52
28		Kenya	055.71
29		Germany	055.59
30		Chile	054.36
*Change from the previous week

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	39	0	39	0	0.00%	270	1855	−1585
Argentina XV	4	0	4	0	0.00%	53	151	−98
Argentina Jaguars	1	0	1	0	0.00%	23	42	−19
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	100.00%	65	8	+57
Brazil	27	21	4	2	77.78%	870	324	+546
Canada	5	0	5	0	0.00%	62	189	−127
Fiji	1	0	1	0	0.00%	16	41	−25
France Amateur	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	22	−19
France XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	34	−31
Georgia	2	1	1	0	50.00%	36	53	−17
Germany	1	1	0	0	100.00%	32	10	+22
Hong Kong	1	0	1	0	0.00%	6	13	−7
Kenya	1	1	0	0	100.00%	23	3	+20
Paraguay	27	26	1	0	96.30%	1098	276	+822
Peru	2	2	0	0	100.00%	62	6	+56
Portugal	3	0	3	0	0.00%	49	87	−38
Russia	1	0	1	0	0.00%	11	42	−31
Spain	5	2	3	0	40.00%	86	151	−65
South Korea	2	1	1	0	50.00%	66	50	+16
Tonga	1	0	1	0	0.00%	30	32	−2
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	100.00%	35	6	+29
United States	5	1	4	0	20.00%	65	214	−149
Uruguay	52	12	39	1	23.08%	804	1264	−460
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	100.00%	95	3	+92
Total	185	71	111	3	38.38%	3863	4876	−1013

World Cup record

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Not invited
1991	Did not enter
1995	Did not qualify								3	0	0	3	37	109
1999	Did not qualify								4	3	0	1	168	40
2003	Did not qualify								8	4	0	4	217	155
2007	Did not qualify								4	2	0	2	121	138
2011	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	88	49
2015	Did not qualify								4	2	0	2	92	78
2019	Did not qualify								3	2	0	1	113	57
Total	0/9	0	0	0	0	0	0		28	14	0	14	836	626

South American Rugby Championship record

Sudamérica Rugby Cup/CONSUR Cup record

Americas Rugby Championship record

• 2016 - Sixth place
• 2017 - Sixth place
• 2018 - Sixth place