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Samoa and Chile square off in the first of a two-leg Rugby World Cup 2027 qualification play-off in what is the biggest test of the year for both sides. If Chile can leave the match at America First Field, Salt Lake City, with the upper hand they will be in pole position to book their ticket as the second leg will be played in Chile.
The two-leg play-off concludes in Vina del Mar, Chile one week later on 27 September and the winner on aggregate will secure the the 23rd and penultimate spot at Men's Rugby World Cup 2027, while the loser joins Belgium, Namibia, and either Paraguay or Brazil at the Final Qualification Tournament in November in Dubai.
Samoa have featured at every Rugby World Cup since 1991 but their form has been poor in the PNC, losing games to Tonga, Fiji and the USA last weekend in which they hardly fired a shot in the second half as the hosts in Denver secured their ticket to Australia. In fact, this is their worst winless run (four games) since they lost nine in a row between 2017-18.
Head Coach Tusi Pisi will be under pressure in his new role he has held since April this year and he is yet to notch up a win.
In addition to missing some players due to club commitments, they are also without Tuna Tuitama, who was suspended following his red card for a dangerous tackle during the USA defeat.
They again captained by Michael Alaalatoa, and have promoted experienced Christian Leali’ifano to the starting fly half berth after he came on off the bench in the US defeat. One player who finds himself thrown into the furnace is Theodore Steffany who makes his debut at inside centre in this massive game.
For the South Americans, Chile, they reached their first-ever Rugby World Cup in France 2023, and truth be told, will be heading into these playoffs as slight favourites to confirm back-to-back Rugby World Cup appearances. They only narrowly lost to Uruguay in the two-leg Sudamericano 2025 final, being edged out 46-37 on aggregate - that included a first win over Uruguay in 10 attempts.
Chile is on form, they have won nine of their last 12 tests but the only previous meeting between these two sides was at that tournament in Bordeaux, France, where the Samoans defeated Chile 43-10.
Pablo Lemoine is working under a four-year deal as Los Condores’ head coach after leading Chile at RWC 2023. He has stuck with consistency and only made one personnel and one positional switch to their starting line-up from the 21-18 victory over Uruguay a couple of weeks ago. Juan Cruz Reyes starts at fly-half with Santiago Videla moving to inside centre
It may well be an afterthought, but the qualified team should be concerned about World Rugby rankings, with the RWC 2027 draw taking place in December.
Chile are currently in a record high 20th, but Los Cóndores could climb to 16th if they win by more than 15 points, which would also send Samoa to 17th. A smaller margin of victory could still see them reach 19th. If the Pacific Islanders win, they could regain the 14th place they lost after last weekend’s defeat to the USA,.
That said, either side will be happy with any sort of lead heading into the second leg, and with the current financial question marks hanging over Samoan rugby, non-qualification could hurt them much more in the long term.