Chile national rugby union team

For the women's team, see Chile women's national rugby union team.

Chile

Nickname	Los Cóndores (The Condors)
Emblem	Andean condor
Union	Chilean Rugby Federation
Head coach	Pablo Lemoine
Captain	Martín Sigren
Most caps	José Ignacio Larenas (50)
Top scorer	Santiago Videla (245)
Top try scorer	José Ignacio Larenas (11)
Home stadium	Estadio Santa Laura
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	16 (as of 20 july 2026)
Highest	16 (2026)
Lowest	31 (2018)
First international
Chile 0–29 Argentina (Valparaíso, Chile; 20 September 1936)
Biggest win
Chile 102–0 Paraguay (Montevideo, Uruguay; 3 May 2003)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 89–6 Chile (Montevideo, Uruguay; 20 May 2009)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2023)
Best result	Pool stage (2023)
Website	chile.rugby

The Chile national rugby union team represents the Chilean Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed Los Cóndores (The Condors in English), they play in red and white, the country's national colours. They are currently ranked 16th in the World Rugby Rankings, and have been historically the third highest-ranked nation in South America.

Chile was the second South American nation after Argentina to play international rugby union, playing their first international test against Argentina in 1936 in Santiago. In 1989, Chile was one of the founding members of Sudamérica Rugby, alongside Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile has long been participating in the South American Rugby Championship since 1951 and has consistently been the third or even the second best team in South America. In 2016, Chile, alongside the unions of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay, formed the Americas Rugby Championship, aimed at increasing the standard of rugby union in the Americas region.

Chile qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which was their first appearance in the tournament. They upset Canada in a two-game series in October 2021, before defeating the United States in a two-game home-and-home series on aggregate by 1 point in July 2022. Chile were drawn with England, Japan, Argentina, and Samoa in Pool D of the World Cup.

The sport has historic connections to the Scottish community in the country. In 2012, two Scottish-Chilean players, Donald and Ian Campbell, were inducted into the IRB (now World Rugby) Hall of Fame.

History

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 arrivedal in ports. 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. 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.

Chilean condor is the main representative of the team.

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 lost 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.

Chile against Los Teros at the 1951 South American Rugby Championship.

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 US 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.

Chile then took part at an Intercontinental Cup at home in Santiago in November 2004. Where they recorded arguably one their greatest victories at the time, defeating an up and coming Georgia side 30-24.

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.

2010s

Chile playing against Los Teros at the 2016 South American Rugby Championship "A".

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.

2020s: World Cup

See also: 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifying

Chile playing a test match against Los Teros before the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Going into the 2020s Chile finally looked to have turned a corner after having successfully come through the first rounds of South America qualification for the 2023 RWC, they went into the Americas 2 Repechage with strong chances of upsetting a weakened Canada side. In a two-legged play-off Chile held Canada to a tight 22-21 opener at Langford, British Columbia before overcoming 33-24 in Valparaíso, winning 54-46 on aggregate and booking their place in the Americas 2 qualifier v the USA. It was also their first ever win over Canada at the 8th attempt and one of their biggest scalps yet.

In July 2022 Chile qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time. They secured their place with an aggregate 52–51 win over the United States, overturning a one-point deficit in the first leg with a 31–29 win in Glendale, Colorado.

Record

Overall record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

Top 30 as of 28 September 2026

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		South Africa	093.09
2		New Zealand	091.15
3		Ireland	088.08
4		France	087.43
5		England	085.68
6	1	Australia	085.55
7	1	Scotland	084.78
8		Argentina	082.24
9		Japan	077.28
10		Fiji	076.81
11		Wales	076.38
12		Italy	076.30
13		Georgia	073.94
14		Portugal	069.39
15		United States	067.58
16		Chile	066.94
17		Spain	066.83
18		Uruguay	065.75
19		Tonga	065.14
20		Samoa	064.73
21		Romania	062.45
22		Canada	062.29
23		Belgium	061.03
24		Hong Kong	060.74
25		Zimbabwe	057.68
26		Namibia	056.96
27		Netherlands	056.44
28		Switzerland	055.47
29		Czech Republic	054.78
30		Poland	054.54

Chile's historical rankings

Source: World Rugby
Graph updated to 24 August 2026

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Chile national XV at test level up until 18 July 2026, updated after match with Georgia.

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	38	0	38	0	0.00%	242	1,686	−1,444
Argentina XV	17	2	15	0	12.5%	178	593	−415
Argentina Provinces	3	2	1	0	66.67%	115	67	+48
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100%	33	5	+28
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	100%	65	8	+57
Brazil	32	25	5	2	78.13%	1,106	468	+638
Canada	9	2	7	0	22.22%	160	305	−145
England	1	0	1	0	0.00%	0	71	−71
England Counties XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	21	33	−12
Fiji	1	0	1	0	0.00%	16	41	−25
France Amateur	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	22	−19
France XV	2	0	2	0	0.00%	9	89	−80
Georgia	3	1	2	0	33.33%	58	102	−44
Germany	1	1	0	0	100%	32	10	+22
Hong Kong	3	2	1	0	66.67%	66	47	+19
Ireland XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	0	30	−30
Italy	1	0	1	0	0.00%	19	34	−15
Italy A	1	0	1	0	0.00%	26	33	−7
Japan	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	42	−30
Junior Springboks	3	0	3	0	0.00%	13	165	−152
Kenya	1	1	0	0	100%	23	3	+20
Māori All Blacks	1	0	1	0	0.00%	0	73	−73
Namibia	1	0	1	0	0.00%	26	28	−2
Netherlands	1	0	1	0	0.00%	17	20	−3
New Zealand XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	6	34	−28
Oxford and Cambridge	1	0	1	0	0.00%	6	42	−36
Paraguay	30	29	1	0	96.67%	1312	286	+1026
Peru	2	2	0	0	100%	62	6	+56
Portugal	4	0	4	0	0.00%	67	110	−43
Romania	4	2	2	0	50%	122	104	+18
Russia	3	2	1	0	66.67%	83	98	−15
Samoa	3	1	1	1	33.33%	73	87	−14
Scotland	1	0	1	0	0.00%	11	52	−41
Scotland A	2	0	2	0	0.00%	22	64	−42
South Africa XV	3	0	3	0	0.00%	16	188	−172
South African Country Districts XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	18	63	−45
Sudamérica XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	21	38	−17
South Korea	2	1	1	0	50%	66	50	+16
Spain	6	2	4	0	33.33%	108	180	−72
Tonga	2	0	2	0	0.00%	40	71	−31
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	100%	35	6	+29
United States	8	2	6	0	25%	125	336	−211
Uruguay	57	13	43	1	22.81%	76	125	−49
Uruguay A	3	1	2	0	33.33%	59	101	−42
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	100%	95	3	+92
Total	261	95	162	4	36.4%	4,681	6,027	−1,346

World Cup record

Rugby World Cup record										Qualification
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1987	Not invited									Not invited
1991	Did not enter									Did not enter
1995	Did not qualify									4th	3	0	0	3	37	109
1999										2nd	4	3	0	1	168	40
2003										4th	8	4	0	4	196	155
2007										3rd	4	2	0	2	121	138
2011										2nd	2	1	0	1	88	49
2015										2nd	4	2	0	2	92	78
2019										2nd	6	3	1	2	194	110
2023	Pool stage	4	0	0	4	27	215	Squad		P/O	6	3	0	3	139	125
2027	Qualified									P/O	8	6	1	1	270	141
2031	To be determined									To be determined
Total	—	4	0	0	4	27	215	—		—	45	24	2	19	1305	945
Champions   Runners–up   Third place   Fourth place   Home venue

South American Rugby Championship record

Main article: South American Rugby Championship

• 1951 – Runners-up
• 1958 – Runners-up
• 1961 – Runners-up
• 1964 – Fourth place
• 1967 – Runners-up
• 1969 – Runners-up
• 1971 – Runners-up
• 1973 – Third place
• 1975 – Runners-up
• 1977 – Third place
• 1979 – Runners-up
• 1981 – Runners-up
• 1983 – Third place
• 1985 – Third place
• 1987 – Third place
• 1989 – Third place
• 1991 – Third place
• 1993 – Fourth place
• 1995 – Third place
• 1997 – Third place
• 1998 – Third place
• 2000 – Third place
• 2001 – Third place
• 2002 – Third place
• 2003 – Third place
• 2004 – Third place
• 2005 – Third place
• 2006 – Third place
• 2007 – Third place
• 2008 – Third place
• 2009 – Third place
• 2010 – Third place
• 2011 – Runners-up
• 2012 – Third place
• 2013 – Third place
• 2014 – Fourth place
• 2015 – First place
• 2016 – Runners-up
• 2017 – Runners-up
• 2018 – Third place
• 2019 – Third place
• 2020 – Runners-up
• 2025 – Runners-up

Sudamérica Rugby Cup/CONSUR Cup record

• 2014 – Third place
• 2015 – Did not participate
• 2016 – Third place
• 2017 – Third place

Americas Rugby Championship record

• 2016 – Sixth place
• 2017 – Sixth place
• 2018 – Sixth place
• 2019 – Sixth place
• 2026 – Champions

Nations Cup record

• 2026 – TBD

Players

Current squad

On 27 October, Chile named a 31-player squad ahead of the 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup European-African-Asian Series.

Head Coach: Pablo Lemoine

• Caps updated: 21 October 2026 (pre November tests)

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Norman Aguayo	Hooker	(2002-02-12) 12 February 2002	6	Selknam
Augusto Böhme	Hooker	(1997-06-11) 11 June 1997	34	Selknam
Diego Escobar	Hooker	(2000-04-17) 17 April 2000	25	Racing 92
Matías Dittus	Prop	(1993-07-16) 16 July 1993	39	CSA Rugby Annonay
Iñaki Gurruchaga	Prop	(1995-10-13) 13 October 1995	30	Selknam
Vittorio Lastra	Prop	(1996-03-16) 16 March 1996	24	Mont-de-Marsan
Benjamín Moreno	Prop	(2005-01-20) 20 January 2005	0	DOBS
Javier Eissmann	Lock	(1997-03-21) 21 March 1997	38	Agen
Pharel Munoz	Lock	(2004-04-21) 21 April 2004	0	SC Royannais
Santiago Pedrero	Lock	(2000-11-30) 30 November 2000	27	Selknam
Bruno Sáez	Lock	(2004-10-27) 27 October 2004	13	Selknam
Alfonso Escobar	Back row	(1997-08-17) 17 August 1997	34	Selknam
Raimundo Martínez	Back row	(1999-11-25) 25 November 1999	30	Selknam
Joaquín Milesi	Back row	(2001-01-26) 26 January 2001	8	PWCC
Clemente Saavedra	Back row	(1997-12-15) 15 December 1997	39	Selknam
Ernesto Tchimino	Back row	(2001-03-21) 21 March 2001	14	Selknam
Ignaco Valdes	Back row	(2008-05-21) 21 May 2008	0	Bayonne
Lucas Berti	Scrum-half	(2003-12-12) 12 December 2003	12	Grenoble
Marcelo Torrealba	Scrum-half	(1996-05-06) 6 May 1996	24	Selknam
Benjamín Videla	Scrum-half	(2001-04-21) 21 April 2001	13	Selknam
Rodrigo Fernández	Fly-half	(1996-02-08) 8 February 1996	40	Selknam
Felipe Mendez	Fly-half	(2001-04-19) 19 April 2001	0	Selknam
Juan Cruz Reyes	Fly-half	(2003-07-04) 4 July 2003	12	Selknam
Matías Garafulic	Centre	(2000-09-01) 1 September 2000	29	Selknam
Nicolás Saab	Centre	(2005-02-28) 28 February 2005	12	Selknam
Domingo Saavedra	Centre	(1997-12-15) 15 December 1997	36	Selknam
Santiago Videla	Centre	(1998-01-16) 16 January 1998	43	Chicago Hounds
Marco Alvano	Wing	(2006-10-23) 23 October 2006	1	Old Boys
Clemente Armstrong	Wing	(2001-05-29) 29 May 2001	5	Selknam
Manuel Bustamante	Wing	(2003-01-13) 13 January 2003	3	Selknam
Iñaki Ayarza	Fullback	(1999-09-07) 7 September 1999	27	Oyonnax

Notable players

• Donald Campbell
• Ian Campbell
• Alastair MacGregor Martin
• Cristian Onetto
• José Larenas
• Sergio Valdes
• Francisco Planella

Award winners

The following Chile players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:

World Rugby Try of the Year

Year	Date	Scorer	Match	Tournament	Ref
2022	9 July	Rodrigo Fernández	vs. United States	World Cup Qualifiers
2025	20 September	Santiago Pedrero	vs. Samoa	World Cup Qualifiers

Player records

Rodrigo Fernández is the Chilean active player with most tries scored.

Most caps

Most capped players Rank Name Years Games 01 José Larenas 2012–2023 50 02 Benjamin Madrigal 2012–2019 43 03 Tomás Dussaillant 2016–2023 40 04 Ignacio Silva 2010–2023 38 05 Martín Sigren 2016–2024 37 06 Santiago Videla 2017–2025 36 07 Ignacio Aninat 2010–2021 34 07 José Williams 2012–2019 34 09 Nikola Bursic 2013–2021 30 010 Beltrán Sandoval 2016–2019 29

Most points

Most points scored Rank Name Years Points 01 Santiago Videla 2017–2025 278 02 Javier Valderrama 2008–2015 239 03 Tomás Vergara 2016–2019 130 04 Matías Torrico 2014–2017 104 05 Francisco Moller 2011–2019 073 06 Rodrigo Fernández 2016–2025 057 07 José Larenas 2012–2023 055 08 Italo Peñaloza 2014–2018 040 09 Nicolás Garafulic 2019–2025 035 09 Benjamín Madrigal 2012–2019 035

Most tries scored Rank Name Years Tries 01 José Larenas 2012–2023 011 02 Rodrigo Fernández 2016–2025 010 03 Santiago Videla 2017–2025 09 04 Italo Peñaloza 2014–2018 08 04 Felipe Valdivia 2010–2017 08 06 Nicolás Garafulic 2019–2025 07 06 Benjamin Madrigal 2012–2019 07 06 Tomás Vergara 2016–2019 07 09 Matias Garafulic 2021–2025 06 010 Julio Blanc 2019 05

Past coaches

Lemoine was the first coach in qualify with Chile to the Rugby World Cup.

Current managerial staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Pablo Lemoine
Assistant Coach	Jake Mangin
Coach	Federico Todeschini
Coach	Nicolás Bruzzone
Coach	Ricardo Cortés

Chronology of head coaches

Since the 1999 Rugby World Cup

Years	Coach
2002–2006	Jorge Navesi
2007	Cristian Iga
2007	Gonzolo Balbontin
2008–2012	Daniel Graco
2012–2014	Omar Turcumán
2014–2015	Paul Healy
2016	Elías Santillán (interim)
2016–2017	Bernard Charreyre
2017	Omar Turcuman
2017–2018	Mark Cross
2018–present	Pablo Lemoine

Jersey colours

The Chile national team wears a combination of red, white and blue as its official colors. For the 2021 and 2022 season, the home jersey is styled in red to represent the Andean condor which appears on the team's crest. Blue is used for collar, sleeves, shorts and striped socks.

For their home away shirt, the jersey's color is white with blue and red trims and feature the same graphic pattern and condor as the home design. The white socks are also adorned with all three colors.

Sponsors

The following companies are the main sponsors of the Chilean team.

Main sponsors

• Marathon Sports
• Banco de Chile

Partners

• Sodimac
• Copec
• Burger King

• Kunstmann
• Fernet Branca

• Universal Assistance
• Energy Club

See also

• Rugby union in Chile
• Chilean Rugby Federation
• Chile national rugby sevens team
• Chile national under-20 rugby union team
• Selknam
• South American Jaguars
• Sport in Chile

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Chile at World Rugby official website
• Chile at 2023 Rugby World Cup official website
• Chile national rugby union team on Instagram
• Chile national rugby union team on X
• Chile national rugby union team on Facebook