Māori All Blacks vs Chile: 10 things you need to know about Chile rugby

  • 17/11/2018
Ignacio Silva is a chance of facing the Māori All Blacks
Ignacio Silva is a chance of facing the Māori All Blacks Photo credit: Getty Images

Like last week against Brazil, the Māori All Blacks enter unknown territory against Chile on Sunday (NZ time).

Coming off a challenging 35-3 win over Brazil last week, the Māori All Blacks now have their sights on Chile.

New Zealand's football team the All Whites have played in Chile, but this is the first time a professional men's rugby team from New Zealand has ventured into the South American country.

The Māori All Blacks will arguably be the strongest team Chile has faced at international level - apart from neighbours Argentina.

Heading into last week's game against Brazil little was known about 'the Tupis', and many spectators were surprised how well they played against a team which include the likes of Akira Ioane, along with All Blacks Jackson Hemopo, Tyrel Lomax and Matt Proctor.

Chile coach Pablo Lemoine.
Chile coach Pablo Lemoine. Photo credit: Getty

All four players will start against Chile though, which is a sign that the Māori All Blacks

want to put on a show against 'the Condors'.

10 things you need to know about Chilean rugby

 

  • 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. The upper classes in Chile mostly played it.
  • Chile's first ever international fixture was against Argentina on September 18, 1936, which Argentina won 29-0.
  • The Chilean Rugby Federation was founded in 1953, and it joined World Rugby in 1991. It now has 18,755 registered players with 23 clubs across the country.
  • In 1972 a plane carrying the members of Old Christians Club, an Uruguayan team, crashed into the Andes mountains en-route to Chile. After 72 days on the glacier, 16 people were rescued and 29 lost their lives. The tragic piece of history has since been turned into a book and movie titled Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors.
  • Chile has never qualified for Rugby World Cup - they are currently ranked 30th in the world, between Kenya and Poland.
  • Chile have faced Argentina 39 times, and haven't won. They have been outscored 270-1855 in those meetings. Other big teams they've faced include Tonga, Georgia and Fiji.
  • Chile are the fourth-ranked team in South America with Argentina (ninth), Uruguay (18th), and Brazil (27th) all placed higher.
  • The Chilean Rugby Union is using Easter Island as a development hub where they can grow players with Polynesian roots. The Island is a Chilean territory even though it is more than 3600 km from the mainland.
  • Rugby has historical connections to the Scottish community in Chile. In 2012, two Scottish-Chilean players, Donald and Ian Campbell, were inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
  • Three years ago Chile started playing rugby league, and recently took part in the Americas Rugby League Championship, which acts as a qualifying competition for the World Cup but lost to the USA Hawks. 

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