Chile play host to Samoa in a Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifier on Saturday. The clash is of fundamental importance as the winner will qualify for the World Cup while the loser will enter a four-way repechage tournament of which the winner will claim the last remaining spot at Australia 2027.
The match is the second of a two-match series. Game one ended in a 32-32 draw. It took place in the neutral location of Salt Lake City, Utah. Rather than being characterized as a highly competitive contest, the match in Salt Lake City was a game of two halves. Chile held a 25-8 half-time lead on merit. Samoa then fought back well to dominante the second-half.
The rugby played in Utah featured contrasting styles; however, the bigger story was arguably the off-field state of affairs of Samoa Rugby and Chile Rugby. Samoa is winless in 2025, was unable to tour in November 2024 nor able to host any rugby test matches in 2025. In contrast, Chile has developed this decade with High Performance investments. It is stark contrast to Samoa’s resource cuts, bankruptcy and corruption.
Samoa and Chile also have vastly different player pathways. Only 15.1% of Samoa’s players were homegrown at Rugby World Cup 2023 while Chile’s roster was 100% homegrown.
Current World Ranking: 20 (65.17)
Sep 20, 2025 – Samoa 32-32 Chile (Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
Sep 06, 2025 – Uruguay 18-21 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Aug 30, 2025 – Chile 16-28 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
July 26, 2025 – Chile 35-20 Brazil (Santiago, CL)
July 19, 2025 – Brazil 21-35 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
July 05, 2025 – Chile 40-16 Romania (Santiago, CL)
Current World Ranking: 15 (68.49 points)
Sep 20, 2025 – Samoa 32-32 Chile (Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
Sep 14, 2025 – USA 29-13 Samoa (Denver, CO, USA)
Sep 06, 2025 – Samoa 15-29 Fiji (Rotorua, NZ)
Aug 23, 2025 – Tonga 30-16 Samoa (Nuku’alofa, TO)
July 18, 2025 – Samoa 12-41 Scotland (Auckland, NZ)
 |
IN | OUT |
| 10 | Rodrigo Fernández | Juan Cruz Reyes |
| 12 | Nicolás Saab | Santiago Videla |
| 13 | Domingo Saavedra | Matías Garafulic |
| 14 | Matías Garafulic | Nicolás Garafulic |
| 15 | Santiago Videla | Cristóbal Game |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Jarred Adams | Aki Seiuli |
| 3 | Bradley Amisoneau’i | Michael Alaalatoa |
| 8 | Abraham Papali’i | Iakopo Petelo-Mapu |
| 10 | Martini Talapusi | Christian Leali’ifano |
| 14 | Tomasi Alosio | Elisapeta Alofipo |
– Emilio Shea (LH)
– Ivan Fepulea’i (LH), Herman Huch (TH), Rilloy Suesue (SH)
– Salvador Lues (LH), Vittorio Lastra (TH), Martín Sigren (FL), Marcelo Torrealba (SH), Luca Strabucchi (FB)
– Michael Alaalatoa (TH), Titi Lamositele (TH), Luteru Tolai (HK), Theo McFarland (LO), Jonathan Taumateine (SH), Christian Leali’ifano (FH), Jacob Umaga (FH), Duncan Paia’aua (CE), Tumua Manu (CE), UJ Seuteni (CE)
- A sold out Estadio Sausalito in Viña del Mar awaits Los Cóndores and Manu Samoa.
- The contest is the third ever rugby test match between Samoa and Chile. The previous matches were both played on neutral territory.
- The Samoa vs Chile matches are a RWC 2027 qualifying series between Sudamérica 2 and Pacific 4.
- The winner will qualify for Australia 2027. The losing team will join Belgium, Namibia and either Brazil or Paraguay (Sudamérica 3) in the repechage tournament in Dubai in November. The repechage tournament will determine the 24th, and final, team for RWC 2027.
- Chile welcome back two first-choice backs from injuries. Rodrigo Fernández starts at fly half and Domingo Saavedra will play outside center.
- First-choice winger Nicolás Garafulic is out having ruptured his por achilles tendón in Salt Lake City.
- Replacement prop Emilio Shea will make his debut for Chile.
- Replacements Ivan Fepulea’i, Herman Huch, and Rilloy Suesue will all debut for Samoa.
- Martin Talapusi and Jarred Adams will make their first test starts for Samoa.
- Off-field problems have affected Samoa’s preparations. Michael Alaalatoa, Iakopo Petelo-Mapu, Henry Taefu, Marco Fepuleai and Christian Leali’ifano did not travel to Chile.
- Samoa also lost Melani Matavao, Aki Seiuli, Joel Lam and Lutero Tolai to injuries.
- The inexperienced Samoa line-up features a total of only 93 caps.
- Santiago Videla is Chile’s most capped active player. He will earn his 42nd cap. Captain Clemente Saavedra will earn his 38th to equal that of regular captain Martín Sigren who is out for the year injured.
- Samoa played in every World Cup since debuting in 1991 and are two-time Quarter Finalists.
- Chile debuted at Rugby World Cup 2023.
- British referee Luke Pearce will officiate the match in English. His assistants are all Spanish-speakers: Damian Schneider, Tomás Bertazza and TMO Marcelo Pilara. Pearce also refereed USA vs Chile in 2022 wherein Chile qualified for a first-ever Rugby World Cup.
The importance of this match for Los Cóndores cannot be overstated. A win will book a spot at Australia 2027 and sends a major player into repechage. Samoa’s woes come in contrast to Chilean development both in terms of competitiveness and management. Having not qualified despite beating Uruguay, Los Cóndores will be fired up for the match. It is also a once in a lifetime opportunity of qualifying for a Rugby World Cup on home soil. Despite, Samoa’s problems the team has the firepower to get the job done. If Chile can put together an 80 minute performance they will have victory within their reach. Samoa are marginal favorites to win in Viña del Mar.
CHILE
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Benjamín Videla, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Iñaki Ayarza, 12 Nicolás Saab, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Matías Garafulic, 15 Santiago Videla
Replacements: 16 Augusto Böhme, 17 Emilio Shea, 18 Matías Dittus, 19 Bruno Sáez, 20 Ernesto Tchimino, 21 Lucas Berti, 22 Juan Cruz Reyes, 23 Cristóbal Game
SAMOA
1 Jarred Adams, 2 Pita Ah Sue, 3 Bradley Amisoneau’i, 4 Benjamin Nee-Nee (co-capt.), 5 Michael Curry, 6 Olajuwon Noa, 7 Alamanda Motuga (co-capt.), 8 Abraham Papali’i, 9 Conor Tupa’i, 10 Martini Talapusi, 11 Latrell Ah Kiong, 12 Theodore Steffany, 13 Melani Nanai, 14 Tomasi Alosio, 15 Lolagi Visinia
Replacements: 16 Ray Niuia, 17 Ivan Fepulea’i, 18 Herman Huch, 19 Potu Leavasa, 20 Jonah Mau’u, 21 Rilloy Suesue, 22 Afa Moleli, 23 Elisapeta Alofipo
Date: Saturday, September 27
Venue: Estadio Sausalito (Viña del Mar, Chile)
Kickoff: 4:30pm (Chile)
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 19°C; Wind: 14 km/h
Broadcasts: Disney + (Chile), Paramount+ (USA), RugbyPass TV
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Damian Schneider (Argentina); Tomás Bertazza (Argentina)
TMO: Marcelo Pilara (Argentina)
| HISTORY VS (2023-2025) |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (2): Samoa 1, Chile 0; Draw 1
Sep 20, 2025 – Samoa 32-32 Chile (Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
Sep 16, 2023 – Samoa 41-10 Chile (Bordeaux, FR)
