The Condors debuted with a solid win against Romania in the Nations Cup

Chile's national rugby team, Los Cóndores, launched their Nations Cup campaign with a commanding 48-31 victory over Romania at the National Stadium in Santiago. The win provides a significant morale boost for the team, which has already secured its place in the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

The match saw Chile take an early lead with a penalty from Matías Garafulic and a converted try by Lucas Berti, establishing a 10-0 advantage. Romania fought back, briefly taking the lead with tries from Adrian Mitu and Stefan Buruiana. However, Chile responded before halftime with tries from Javier Carrasco and Raimundo Martínez, along with Garafulic's successful conversions, to end the first half with a 27-17 lead.

In the second half, Romania narrowed the gap to 27-24 with a try from Dylan Schwartz after an interception. Chile quickly reasserted control, scoring a maul try through Diego Escobar. Although Marius Simionescu scored another try for Romania, Chile sealed their victory with three consecutive tries, two more from Escobar and one from Martínez.

This opening win sets a positive tone for Los Cóndores in the Nations Cup, a tournament featuring teams ranked below Tier 1 nations but including other World Cup qualifiers. Chile's focus now shifts to their upcoming matches against Hong Kong China on July 11 at the Sausalito Stadium in Viña del Mar, and their final fixture against Georgia on July 18 at the La Portada Stadium in La Serena.