Chile national rugby league team

Chile

Nickname	Caciques Chilenos (English: Chilean Chiefs)
Governing body	-
Region	-
Head coach	Gabe Keegan
Captain	Jonathan Espinoza, Eduardo Wegener
Most caps	-
Top try-scorer	Daniel Godinez, Alvaro Alarcon (4)
Top point-scorer	Alvaro Alarcon (20)
RLIF ranking	-th
First international
Malta 16 - 12 Chile  (Sydney, Australia; 31 January 2015)
Biggest win
Uruguay 20 - 4 Chile  (Sydney, Australia; 17 October 2015)
Biggest defeat
Cabramatta 28-12 Chile  (Sydney, Australia; 31 January 2015)
World Cup
Appearances	0 (first time in -)
Best result	-

The Chile national rugby league team (Spanish: rugby league equipo nacional de Chile), nicknamed Caciques Chilenos (English: Chilean Chiefs), represents Chile in rugby league. They had their first international 9's tournament in 2015 in Australia along with El Salvador in Latin America at the Cabramatta International Nines.^[1]

History

RLIF World Rankings
Official Rankings as of November 2016[2]
Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		Australia
2		New Zealand
3		England
4		Scotland
5		Samoa
6		France
7		Fiji
8		Ireland
9		Wales
10		United States
11		Serbia
12		Canada
13		Italy
14		Tonga
15		Papua New Guinea
16		Russia
17		Jamaica
18		Belgium
19		Spain
20		Malta
21		Lebanon
22		Ukraine
23		Germany
24		Czech Republic
25		Cook Islands
26		Norway
27		Denmark
28		Greece
29		Sweden
30		Netherlands
31		South Africa
32		Niue
33		Philippines
34		Chile
35		Vanuatu
36		Latvia
37		Solomon Islands
38		Hungary
39		El Salvador
40		Morocco

As of December 2015, Rugby League had yet to be played on Chilean soil. However, the efforts of Latin Heat Rugby League, and the newly established governing body Futbol A 13 Chile, have resulted in the introduction of a competitive local league. Chile's participation in the Rugby League Tri Series tournament hosted by the Confederacion Argentina de Rugby League in November 2016, will feature players from the local competitions, demonstrating the rapid development of the sport in Chile.

On October 17, 2015, The Chile National Rugby League entered in the first ever Latino Rugby League Sevens Tournament, winning the competition in a dramatic final against fellow rugby league newcomer, Peru.^[3] The tournament format changed into a 9s competition for the 2016 edition with Chile defending its title in a thrilling 20-14 win over Peru at Moorebank Sports Club.^[4]

On June 11, 2016, Chile made its full 13-a-side debut at Henson Park, home of the Newtown Jets Rugby League Club. Over 1,500 people in attendance witnessed the historic first International Test match for both Chile and El Salvador, with Los Caciques triumphant 58-20 over their Salvadorian counterparts.^[5][6]

Chile's recent success has resulted in their recognition in the Rugby League International Federation's world rankings. Chile is currently ranked the 34th best rugby league playing nation on the planet. El Salvador, Chile's opponent in their most recent International match also entered the ranking at number 39.^[7]

Chile will participate in the first Rugby League Tri Series against Argentina and Brazil in November 2016. Hosted by the Confederacion Argentina de Rugby League, the tournament is to be held in Miramar, Argentina and will feature representative teams from Brazil, Chile and hosts Argentina. The Tri Series will mark the first time a Rugby League International is played by two South American sides in the continent.^[8]

Current squad

The following is the teamed named for the 2015 Latino Sevens.^[9]

Esteban Bazaez

Giorgio Blanco

Alex Bluck

Mana Castillo (Mascot Jets, NSW)

Sebastian Delapaz (Mounties, NSW)

Jonathan Espinoza (Griffith University, QLD)

Dennis Ford (South Eastern Titans, VIC)

Liam Hernandez

Richard Hernandez (St Clair Comets, NSW)

James Horvat (Mounties, NSW)

Francisco Lagos

Jaden Laing (Blacktown Workers, NSW)

Brad Millar (Beenleigh Lions, QLD)

David Mora (South Eastern Titans, VIC)

Jonathan Munoz

Joshua Munoz

William Neculman

Israel Perez

Eduardo Wegener (West Belconnen Warriors, ACT)

Jayden Yasar

Record

Below is table of the representative rugby league matches played by Chile at test level up until 12 October 2015:

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
American Samoa	1	-	1	-	0%	4	46	-42
El Salvador	1	1	0	-	100%	34	20	14
Thailand	1	-	1	-	0%	10	20	-10
Niue	1	-	1	-	0%	10	24	-14
Uruguay	1	1	0	-	100%	20	4	16
Total	5	2	3	-	40%	78	114	-36

See also

Rugby league in the Americas

References

National sports teams of Chile
Male teams	American football Baseball Basketball U-19 U-17 Beach soccer Cricket Field hockey Football Olympic U-20 U-17 Golf Handball Inline hockey Volleyball Futsal Rugby league Rugby union Sevens Softball Tennis Water polo Roller hockey
Female teams	Baseball Basketball U-19 U-17 Field hockey Football Olympic U-20 U-17 Futsal Handball Inline hockey Roller derby Rugby union Softball Tennis Water polo Volleyball
Olympics Paralympics Pan American Games