Chile have home advantage against Uruguay on Saturday. The match is game one of a home-and-away series to determine who will officially be South America 1 in Australia 2027. Chile and Uruguay reached the South American final by winning their respective series’ against Brazil and Paraguay.
Uruguay are now established as regular competitors at Men’s Rugby World Cups. Uruguay debuted at the 1999 tournament and played again in 2003. After missing out in the following two opportunities, Uruguay changed pathways to focus on lifting the test team and moving towards professionalism. The strategy led to success with Uruguay qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2015 and then shocking the South Pacific Ocean in 2019.
Chile debuted at Rugby World Cup 2023. Los Cóndores were joined by Uruguay and Argentina to give South America three participants in a Rugby World Cup for the first time. Chile learned lessons from Uruguay’s High Performance investments and looked to replicate the model.
Chile Rugby set the goal of qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2027. Los Cóndores succeeded one cycle earlier and did so by eliminating Canada and sending the USA to repechage. Critical to success was the arrival of Super Rugby Americas (formerly Súper Liga Americana de Rugby). The South American league provides a gap between amateur rugby and the test arena for Uruguay and Chile. Peñarol and Selknam have established El Clásico and Saturday’s test match will be at the same venue as their battle in April.
FORM GUIDE + |
Current World Ranking: 20 (63.83)
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: 16 (67.52 points)
2025-08-23 – Uruguay 78-10 Paraguay (Montevideo, UY)
2025-07-26 – Paraguay 0-38 Uruguay (Asunción, PY)
2025-07-19 – Argentina 52-17 Uruguay (Salta, AR)
2025-07-12 – Uruguay 70-8 Romania (Montevideo, UY)
LINE-UP CHANGES (from vs and vs ) |
|
IN | OUT |
| 9 | Benjamín Videla | Lucas Berti |
| 11 | Nicolás Garafulic | Nicolás Saab |
| 14 | Iñaki Ayarza | Nicolás Garafulic |
| 15 | Cristóbal Game | Iñaki Ayarza |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Germán Kessler | Facundo Gattas |
| 5 | Manuel Leindekar | Ignacio Dotti |
| 8 | Manuel Ardao | Carlos Deus |
| 9 | Santiago Arata | Santiago Álvarez |
| 10 | Felipe Etcheverry | Ícaro Amarillo |
| 11 | Baltazar Amaya | Ignacio Álvarez Akiki |
| 14 | Bautista Basso | Baltazar Amaya |
| + MOST CAPS |
– S Videla (38), M Dittus (34), C Saavedra (34), A Böhme (32), J Carrasco (32), J Eissmann (32), R Fernández (32) – M Sanguinetti (94), A Vilaseca (84), I Dotti (70), G Kessler (70), S Arata (50), M Leindekar (41)
| +LEAST CAPS |
– N Saab (4), L Berti (5), E Tchimino (6), B Sáez (7), JC Reyes (7)
– F Suárez (3), J González (7), I Álvarez Akiki (11), R Piussi (12)
| + NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Vittorio Lastra (TH), Martín Sigren (FL), Joaquín Milesi (N8), Marcelo Torrealba (SH), Domingo Saavedra (CE), Luca Strabucchi (FB)
– Guilherme Pujadas (HK), Diego Arbelo (TH), Manuel Diana (N8)
- The match is the first of two to determine who will qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 as South America 1. Game two will be played in Montevideo, Uruguay on Saturday, September 06.
- Chile are unbeaten thus far in 2025.
- Chile ran Uruguay very close last time, losing 26-25. Uruguay won the match prior to that 15-10 in 2021.
- Chile’s last win over Uruguay was 30-15 in 2015. Notwithstanding, Chile XV defeated Uruguay XV 22-21 in Montevideo in 2020. The line-ups of both teams that day mean it was not the ‘A’ teams and merited test match status.
- Star scrum-half Santiago Arata will play for Uruguay for the first time since July 2024.
- Uruguay’s break-out performer from Rugby World Cup 2023, Baltazar Amaya, plays wing rather than fullback. It comes with Rodolfo Ambrosio fielding a potent back-three of Amaya and Bautista Basso on the wings and Juan González at fullback.
- Chilean enforcer Clemente Saavedra leads Los Cóndores with Martín Sigren out for the season.
- Santiago Videla is the most capped member of the Chilean line-up with 38 caps.
- Mateo Sanguinetti will earn his 95th cap for Uruguay. Four others have passed the mark of 50 caps.
- Carlos Deus, who scored a hat-trick against Paraguay, drops to the replacements. The lighter and shorter Manuel Ardao starts at the back of the scrum rather than his Rugby World Cup 2023 position of flanker. Manuel Diana has been rested following the birth of his child on Thursday.
- World Rugby’s decision to allocate South America one spot for Rugby World Cup 2027 has upped the stakes for Saturday’s match. On the one hand, Uruguay and Chile both competed at Rugby World Cup 2023. On the other hand, Hong Kong (ranked 23) will debut at 2027, doing so having qualified via Asia against South Korea (36), United Arab Emirates (40), Sri Lanka (47) and Malaysia (54).
- Uruguay are targeting a second appearance at a Rugby World Cup in Australia. Los Teros competed at the 2003 tournament where they recorded a noteworthy win over Georgia in Sydney.
- The match will be refereed in English by Jérémy Rozier. Native Spanish-Speakers Tomás Bertazza and Damian Schneider will be assistant referees.
- Rozier officiated Netherlands vs Chile in November 2024. He and Schneider have experience working together refereeing Rugby Sevens going back many years.
| RWC QUALIFIER vs TEAMS |
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 Benjamín Videla, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Nicolás Garafulic, 12 Santiago Videla, 13 Matías Garafulic, 14 Iñaki Ayarza, 15 Cristóbal Game
Replacements: 16 Salvador Lues, 17 Augusto Böhme, 18 Matías Dittus, 19 Bruno Sáez, 20 Ernesto Tchimino, 21 Lucas Berti, 22 Juan Cruz Reyes, 23 Nicolás Saab
URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Reinaldo Piussi, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 5 Manuel Leindekar (capt.), 6 Santiago Civetta, Lucas Bianchi, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Baltazar Amaya, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Felipe Arcos Pérez, 14 Bautista Basso, 15 Juan González
Replacements: 16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Francisco Suárez, 18 Ignacio Péculo, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Santiago Álvarez, 22 Ignacio Álvarez Akiki, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso
Both Chile and Uruguay have played good rugby in 2025. Record wins over Romania and impressive wins against South American opponents set’s up a fascinating two-match series final. On paper, Chile’s forwards have the edge while Uruguay are ahead in the backs. Weather conditions are expected to be pleasant and recent snowfall ought to provide a beautiful background at La Pintana. Uruguay are slight favorites to win in Santiago.
Venue: Estadio Municipal de la Pintana, Santiago, Chile
Date: Saturday, August 30
Kick-Off: 3:00pm (CL); 4:00pm (UY)
Weather: Light Rain. 13°C; Wind 6 km/h
Broadcast: Disney +
Referee: Jérémy Rozier (France)
Assistant Referees: Tomás Bertazza (Argentina); Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO: Marcelo Pilara (Argentina)
 AUSTRALIA 2027 – SOUTH AMERICAN RWC QUALIFYING PICTURE |
Los Cóndores began their Rugby World Cup 2017 qualifying campaign in 2024 while Los Teros did so in 2025. Uruguay’s regular participation in Rugby World Cups, results and ranking saw Los Teros starting this year. In contrast, Chile, who debuted at Rugby World Cup 2023 had to contend with Brazil and Paraguay in 2024.
Paraguay secured a spot in the final round of the South American qualifiers for Rugby World Cup 2027.Los Yacarés did so with a record win over Colombia in October. The 49-18 victory saw Paraguay securing the final spot in the Sudamericano 2025 alongside Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
The result saw Colombia eliminated. Los Tucanes booked their spot against Paraguay by being crowned champions of the third tier of South America. It involved a Four Nations competition, which also featured countries from Central America, with Colombia being joined joined Costa Rica, Peru and Venezuela.
Colombia won the tournament with comfortable wins over Costa Rica and Venezuela. Los Tucanes’ 50-05 win over Venezuela meant Colombia advanced to face Paraguay with Costa Rica, Peru and Venezuela all eliminated.
Paraguay’s pathway to facing Colombia began in the Southern Cone against Chile and Brazil. Los Cóndores and Os Tupis both won Rugby World Cup Qualifiers against Paraguay to book their spots alongside Uruguay in the South American Semi Finals. Paraguay claimed the remaining spot with the aforementioned win over Colombia.
Saturday’s showdown in Santiago is the first of two between Chile and Uruguay. The winner, on aggregate, will be the Sudamericano 2025 champion. That team will qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 as South America 1, joining Argentina as the second South American competitor confirmed in the Australia hosted tournament.
The runner-up of the Sudamericano 2025 will face the bottom team from the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup in a winner goes to the Rugby World Cup clash. The third placed team from the Sudamericano 2025 will advance to the Final Place Play-Off tournament to determine the 24th competitor at the World Cup.
| vs COMPLETE RESULTS (1948-2023) |
July 29, 2023 – Uruguay 26-25 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
July 18, 2021 – Uruguay 15-10 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 09, 2019 – Uruguay 20-05 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 24, 2018 – Chile 15-67 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 27, 2017 – Uruguay 27-11 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Mar 04, 2017 – Uruguay 45-14 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 07, 2016 – Uruguay 39-14 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Feb 27, 2016 – Chile 20-23 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 09, 2015 – Chile 30-15 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 10, 2014 – Uruguay 55-13 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 04, 2013 – Uruguay 23-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 23, 2012 – Chile 26-27 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 20, 2011 – Uruguay 18-21 Chile (Puerto Iguazú, AR)
May 19, 2010 – Chile 19-36 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
May 02, 2009 – Uruguay 46-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Nov 22, 2008 – Uruguay 46-12 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Aug 25, 2007 – Chile 34-35 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Jul 22, 2006 – Uruguay 43-15 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 11, 2005 – Uruguay 34-25 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
May 01, 2004 – Chile 13-20 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Apr 27, 2003 – Uruguay 20-13 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Jul 27, 2002 – Chile 10-06 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Jul 09, 2002 – Uruguay 34-23 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
May 01, 2002 – Uruguay 33-16 Chile (Mendoza, AR)
Oct 13, 2001 – Uruguay 26-07 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Nov, 12, 2000 – Uruguay 11-09 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Apr 04, 1998 – Chile 14-20 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Aug 24, 1997 – Uruguay 32-17 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 24, 1995 – Chile 13-31 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Oct 09, 1993 – Uruguay 14-06 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 20, 1992 – Uruguay 37-15 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 08, 1991 – Chile 18-34 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Nov 04, 1990 – Chile 27-33 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Dec 10, 1989 – Uruguay 19-17 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Sep 30, 1987 – Chile 19-33 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Sep 21, 1985 – Uruguay 09-03 Chile (Asunción, PY)
Jul 20, 1983 – Uruguay 25-03 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
May 24, 1981 – Uruguay 33-03 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct 12, 1979 – Uruguay 09-09 Chile (Santiago, CL)
Oct 27, 1977 – Uruguay 21-10 Chile (Tucumán, AR)
Sep 25, 1975 – Uruguay 07-15 Chile (Asunción, PY)
Oct 14, 1973 – Uruguay 13-10 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
Oct 12, 1971 – Uruguay 06-11 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct 08, 1969 – Chile 13-06 Uruguay (Viña del Mar, CL)
Sep 24, 1967 – Uruguay 11-16 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
Aug 18, 1964 – Uruguay 15-08 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
Oct 12, 1961 – Uruguay 05-28 Chile (Montevideo, UY)
Oct, 11 1958 – Chile 34-09 Uruguay (Santiago, CL)
Sep 16, 1951 – Uruguay 08-03 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
Aug 05, 1948 – Uruguay 03-21 Chile (Buenos Aires, AR)
| vs OVERALL RESULTS |
39 Wins 10 Wins
Draws 1
