Preview: England v Chile

22 Sep 2023 | 6 min |

Everything you need to know ahead of England Men's third Rugby World Cup pool fixture against Chile in Lille.

Steve Borthwick's charges are chasing a third victory from three World Cup games as they head north to Lille to face the South American side, after defeating Argentina in round one and securing a bonus point victory over Japan in Nice at the weekend.

Supporter's Guide to Lille

When?	Saturday 23 September
Where?	Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille
Kick off?	16:45 BST

England's third pool fixture sees them face Chile, who qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 2023 after a dramatic 52-51 aggregate victory over the USA in the Americas 2 play-off in 2022. Having lost the first fixture 22-21 in Santíago, Los Condores claimed a 31-29 victory in the return game to secure their spot in Pool D alongside England, Argentina, Japan and Samoa.

Their opening game of the tournament saw them fall to a 42-12 defeat to Japan in Toulouse, with fly half Rodrigo Fernandez scoring the nation's first ever Rugby World Cup points. Alfonso Escobar scored a second but it was not enough to overcome a spirited Japan side.

A similar picture was painted in Bordeaux in the side's second pool match against Samoa. Matias Dittus scored the opening try of the match to give Chile the early advantage, but five unanswered Samoan tries meant the game would finish 43-10 in favour of the Pacific Islanders.

WHERE TO WATCH

ITV will be broadcasting every Rugby World Cup fixture live.
Enjoy the ultimate experience at the official England Rugby fanzone at Vinegar Yard, with tickets from just £6.50
For the travelling rugby fan, check out our supporter's guide to Lille.

VIEWS FROM CAMP

Tom Harrison: "It's exciting for us to have the opportunity to face a new challenge in Chile. They're new to the World Cup but they've been brilliant in the matches they've played and think we've seen that with a lot of Tier Two nations in how well they've started games and competed."

David Ribbans: "It's been an amazing honour and a privilege to be here for the World Cup. I don't think I would have ever expected this a couple of years ago. My journey to the World Cup has been full of ups and downs but it's so exciting to be here and I'm enjoying every moment with this squad.

"Chile rightly deserve their place in the World Cup. We're going to have to work hard, it's going to be a tough game for us, they're going to try and match us physically and come after us so I think it's important that we stick to our structure and put in a good performance. It's important to focus on ourselves and the performance we produce on the day; As much as we analyse the opposition it's important that we play the England way and focus on what we can do.

Steve Borthwick: "We are all tremendously excited to see our captain Owen Farrell back on the grass on Saturday. He’s been an incredible leader for this team despite not being able to play the first two games of this World Cup, he’s been a fantastic influence and a role model both on and off of the training field.

"I’m pleased with the way this squad is building in this tournament, pleased with how we have progressed in the first couple of rounds, and we’re looking forward to the game on Saturday. In Chile we see an incredibly committed team, a team of players with pace, and when they get the ball in possession they keep the ball alive, so they pose a danger in that sense. From my point of view I want to make sure we continue to build our game. I think we’ve seen progression and I’m pleased with the way the team is building."

Owen Farrell: "I’m massively excited. I’ve been looking forward to the World Cup, it’s been brilliant to see what the lads have done on the pitch. The team has done unbelievably well over the last couple of weeks and the two results we’ve had have been fantastic. It’s been great to watch and I can’t wait to be a part of it this weekend."

TEAMS

England

15. Marcus Smith, 14. Henry Arundell, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Max Malins, 10. Owen Farrell (C), 9. Danny Care, 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Theo Dan, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. David Ribbans, 5. George Martin, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Jack Willis, 8. Billy Vunipola

Replacements

16. Jack Walker, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. George Ford, 23. Joe Marchant

Chile

15. Francisco Urroz, 14. Cristobal Game, 13. Domingo Saavedra, 12. Matias Garafulic, 11. Franco Velarde, 10. Rodrigo Fernandez, 9. Benjamin Videla, 1. Salvador Lues, 2. Augusto Bohme, 3. Matias Dittus, 4. Clemente Saavedra, 5. Javier Eissmann, 6. Martín Sigren (C), 7. Ignacio Silva, 8. Alfonso Escobar

Replacements

16. Tomas Dussaillant, 17. Vittorio Lastra, 18. Inaki Gurruchaga, 19. Pablo Huete, 20. Thomas Orchard, 21. Raimundo Martínez, 22. Lukas Carvallo, 23. Inaki Ayarza

Match Officials

Referee - Jaco Peyper

Assistant Referee 1: Pierre Brousset

Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Piardi

TMO: Marius Jonker