Here’s our match report. Thanks for joining me, and see you later for Ireland v Tonga. Bye!
Saracens’ Theo McFarland was named man of the match, after an all-action display in the second row.
Kicking his nation off with the win
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 16, 2023
Theo McFarland is the @Mastercard #POTM #RWC2023 | #SAMvCHI | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/00VouavMNA
Updated
Next up, it’s Wales v Portugal – join Daniel Gallan for that one.
Full time! Samoa 43-10 Chile
They took their time to get going, but Samoa showed with that four-try blitz either side of half-time just what they can do. Chile brought plenty to the contest too, particularly in a closely fought first-half.
TRY! Samoa 43-10 Chile (Malolo 80')
This time, he does get his second try, heaved over the line by another ferocious rolling maul. Lima Sopoaga kicks the extras.
79 mins: Sama Malolo goes over for what looks like his second try – but it’s chalked off by the TMO. They’ll restart with a lineout …
78 mins: Now it’s Samoa’s turn to push for a final flourish. From a midfield scrum, Ah-Wong surges down the left flank and after the ball is held up, Samoa go again…
76 mins: Chile are almost out on their feet here, and run out of steam as they look to reward their fans with another score. Inostroza is still in the sin-bin, while Salvador Lues has also headed for the touchline with an injury.
73 mins: A reminder that the score is Samoa 36-10 Chile; Samoa were 12-10 ahead just before half-time, ran in four tries in the space of 13 minutes, and then pretty much downed tools.
72 mins: Escobar, who scored against Japan last week, is back on the field. A half-hearted Samoa foray downfield ends when Chile win a penalty.
Another yellow card for Chile
71 mins: So ends one of the great World Cup cameos, as Inostroza comes on, clatters Leali’ifano to the floor like a human cannonball, and is sent to the sin-bin. He joins Alfonso Escobar, who can return in 60 seconds’ time.
70 mins: Esteban Inostroza is on in the Chilean front row. We’ve seen some hair in this tournament, but his bald head/beard/tiny ponytail ensemble might be a new high bar.
68 mins: Leali’ifano clears the ball smoothly away and from the Chile lineout, Samoa regain possession. It’s kicked downfield and Garafulic is unfortunate to see his attempted catch spill into touch.
66 mins: Let’s hope we can get back to some rugby for the last 15 minutes. We resume with a scrum, and Chile get the penalty advantage. Fernandez wanted quick ball, but didn’t get it. In the stands, the Chile fans make themselves heard once again.
65 mins: Enari’s yellow card will stay a yellow because, as the referee tells his teammates, “the degree of danger was not high”.
Yellow card for Samoa
There’s a question over whether the player behind Enari inadvertently added to his momentum as he fell on to Diego Escobar. Some good news for the Escobar household, as Alfonso’s yellow card is not upgraded. We’ll wait and see on Enari, I expect it will be the same outcome.
64 mins: It’s all getting a bit spiky out there, with McFarland grappling with Fernandez and plenty of choice words exchanged. Enari, the replacement scrum-half, goes in hard on Diego Escobar and there will be a TMO review. Escobar is replaced by the returning Tomas Dussaillant, while his brother sits in the sin bin.
Yellow card for Chile
62 mins: Alfonso Escobar is sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Fritz Lee. He raises his hand in apology to the Samoa No 7 as he heads off. Meanwhile, Marcelo Torrealba is replaced by Benjamin Videla.
60 mins: Fernandez, not given the kind of space he had in the first half, is forced into a high, looping kick that gains Chile about five metres. Time for a second drinks break …
58 mins: Samoa are penalised at the scrum – “I warned you in the first half,” says Williams, to a front row who weren’t on the pitch then.
57 mins: Jordan Taufua is on for Samoa, replacing Steven Luatua at No 8. The hefty tackles keep flying in, even with the outcome of this game now decided and the bonus point in the bag for Samoa.
56 mins: The bench-emptying continues, with scrum-half Ereatara Eneri coming on alongside former All Black Lima Sopoaga for Samoa. Chile have a chance to hit back, but Fernandez’s long-range grubber kick has just too much on it, and rolls into touch behind the tryline.
54 mins: More changes for both sides as Jordan Lay replaces his brother, James, in the Samoa front row. Paul Alo-Emile is on for Michael Alaalatoa, while Chile send on Ignacio Silva for Santiago Pedrero.
TRY! Samoa 36-10 Chile (Malolo 52')
Samoa kick to the corner and from the lineout, another white wave rushes towards the line. Replacement prop Sama Malolo, who came on at half-time, gets the ball over the line, and Christian Leali’ifano scores the conversion.
Updated
50 mins: This was a very close game for the first 39 minutes, although Samoa were stuck in second gear. Now they’re turning the screw on Chile’s defence at every opportunity; the underdogs give two penalties away, and get an official team warning from the referee.
TRY! Samoa 29-10 Chile (Lee 47')
Or not – Samoa restart with a lineout, which is collected by McFarland. A rolling maul forms around him and Chile won’t be stopping it. It’s down to flanker Fritz Lee to dot the ball over the line. Leali’ifano’s conversion clanks off the right upright.
45 mins: Another Samoa surge down the right comes up short, and there’s now a break in play while the referee, Paul Williams, sorts out his radio comms. A welcome chance for Chile to regroup …
44 mins: A first miss for Leali’ifano, his looping attempted conversion dropping beyond the right post. OK, those Chile changes: Carrasco, Dussaillant, Huete and Martínez off – all forwards – replaced by Diego and Alfonso Escobar, Salvador Lues and Javier Eissmann.
TRY! Samoa 24-10 Chile (Taumateine 42')
Those changes will have to wait – Samoa have flown out of the traps here! It’s Jonathan Taumateine who starts the move, switching the direction of play before getting upended. Theo McFarland picks up the baton from Nigel Ah-Wong and drives for the line before flipping it back to Taumateine, somehow back on his feet and right behind him, and the scrum-half leaps acrobatically over the line.
Updated
We're back
Chile have made some half-time changes, which I’ll run through shortly. For Samoa, Sama Malolo replaces Seilala Lam at hooker.
Sign up for our weekly rugby newsletter, the Breakdown, right here.
Half time! Samoa 19-10 Chile
Leali’ifano adds a tricky conversion, pinned out on the left-hand touchline, and Samoa lead by nine at half-time. Chile, who had defended with such intensity throughout the first half, switched off for the final play and paid the price.
TRY! Samoa 17-10 Chile (Paia'aua 40')
This is simple but deadly. Taumateine shifts the ball left and after a smart kick-through, Toala collects the bouncing ball on the move and finds Duncan Paia’aua to his left. Nobody’s catching the full-back, crunching through the gears before sliding over the line.
Updated
39 mins: One more midfield scrum in this bruising first half, with Samoa getting the put-in…
37 mins: Plenty more dynamic, running rugby from Chile, working through 10 phases as they sweep left, then right, and back again. There’s no gap in the white wall ahead, though, and the ball is eventually turned over as Garafulic runs out of room by the left-hand touchline.
Key event
35 mins: Samoa 12-10 Chile (Leali’ifano pen) The reliable boot of Leali’ifano makes it four penalties from four; he’s scored all of Samoa’s points so far.
34 mins: Chile’s scrum holds firm and they can clear their lines, but as Samoa surge forward again, they pick up another penalty.
32 mins: Samoa’s best spell so far came after they went behind. Can they repeat the trick? Not here, as a miscommunication sees Steven Luatua fail to gather an errant pass, five metres out.
30 mins: Samoa 9-10 Chile (Garafulic pen) Chile retain the ball and pour forward, earning a penalty advantage. Clemente Saavedra crashes through a tackle but the ball pops loose – so they will come back for the three points. With usual kicker Videla off the field, centre Matias Garafulic takes it, and scores in scrappy fashion.
28 mins: Videla is not returning after his head injury assessment. It’s Pablo Casas, rather than his brother Benjamin, who replaces him. The Chile captain, Martín Sigren, asks the referee for a water break – and is told that we just had one. I mean, it’s hot out there.
Updated
27 mins: Chile are causing Samoa’s backs all sorts of problems, with their pressure forcing two handling errors and allowing Chile to charge downfield, where they will have the put-in at a scrum, some 30 metres out.
Updated
24 mins: The penalties are stacking up, with Chile collapsing the scrum but getting out of trouble when Samoa are penalised downfield. From the Chile lineout, Fernandez launches a high box kick which is gathered by Duncan Paia’aua, the Samoa full-back.
22 mins: Videla is going off, set to be replaced by his own brother, Benjamin. There are three sets of brothers in the Chile 23; Clemente and Domingo Saavedra, who both started the game, are twins.
Updated
20 mins: It’s a real physical battle at the minute, strength-sapping scrums and clattering challenges. A Chile player is down and getting treatment – it’s Santiago Videla, who wasn’t set properly as he smashed into a Samoa player.
17 mins: The lively early pace has been slowed by a series of false-start scrums, but Taumateine finally kicks clear and Chile start moving upfield. They win a penalty and a change to gain some territory, which Fernandez takes.
The commentators have just mentioned that Le Roux Malan, who suffered a horrible injury in Namibia’s loss to New Zealand last night, has undergone surgery in France. He suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle but is recovering well – and was given an All Blacks shirt, signed by the entire team, as a gift.
Updated
14 mins: Samoa 9-7 Chile (Leali’ifano pen) A third regulation kick is dispatched, and Samoa are back in the lead, with Seuteni returning in two minutes’ time.
12 mins: Chile haven’t been able to build any momentum with an extra man – in fact, it’s Samoa who are controlling possession at the moment, and Martínez is penalised for recklessly reaching for the ball on the ground …
Chile fly-half Hernández has a flair for the spectacular – he won Try of the Year in 2022 for this effort in a mudbath against the USA.
9 mins: Samoa 6-7 Chile (Leali’ifano pen) Samoa cut the deficit quickly through a second Leali’ifano penalty. It’s also confirmed that Seuteni’s yellow card won’t be upgraded to a red after review.
Yellow card for Samoa!
Samoan centre Ulupano Junior Seuteni is sent to the sin bin for a wild challenge during that Chile breakaway. Santiago Videla kicks the conversion, and this could be an interesting next 10 minutes. Samoa 3-7 Chile.
TRY! Samoa 3-5 Chile (Dittus 6')
With Samoa on the back foot, the Chilean forwards arrive in numbers and grind the ball forward, before prop Matias Dittus barges his way over the line!
Chile's Martin Sigren celebrates the opening try. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
5 mins: Here’s our first glimpse of Chile’s attacking swagger, as fly-half Rodrigo Fernández picks up Ayarza’s pass and shimmies into space …
Samoa 3-0 Chile (Leali’ifano penalty) Christian Leali’ifano goes for the three points, slotting the ball over from in front of the posts.
3 mins: From an early lineout, a kick-through is collected by Chile full-back Inaki Ayarza – but his side are penalised for an offside.
2 min: It’s Samoa who kick off and Theo McFarland is under the catch, starting a prolonged passage of possession, conducted by scrum-half Jonathan Taumateine, who is sporting an unmissable bleach-blond mullet.
Here we go!
We’re under way in bright sunshine and 30-degree heat in Bordeaux.
Both teams are lined up for the anthems, with Chile’s rendition backed by hundreds of red-shirted fans, bellowing it out with as much gusto as the players on the pitch. Samoa, who are in their white change strip, then gather for the pre-match siva tau. Led by the captain, Michael Alaalatoa, it’s as spectacular as ever.
Updated
“The most fun watch of the opening series was unquestionably Japan v Chile,” writes Jeremy Boyce. “The former are always a pleasure, the latter a total revelation – not playing the percentages, no endless box-kicking, picking the ball up and running with it. As per William Webb Ellis himself. And by doing so, smashing holes in the clipboards and computers of the defence coaches, as he did to the rules of footie. Whatever the outcomes this weekend (fingers crossed for a surprise) it will be a pleasure to see both teams doing it their own way, not the formulaic way.”
As for Chile, they are at their first World Cup after an extraordinary qualifying run where they shocked Canada and the United States with dramatic victories. Take a closer look at their journey here:
Samoa have included three players in their 23-man matchday squad with caps for other countries: former Wallaby Christian Leali’ifano starts at fly-half, while Steven Luatua and Lima Sopoaga have represented the All Blacks. Gerard Meagher explains more about the new birthright rule, and how it could reshape rugby union:
Learn more about today’s teams and their Pool D prospects with Luke McLaughlin’s guide:
The teams
Samoa: Paia’aua, Toala, Seuteni, Manu, Ah-Wong, Leali’fano, Taumateine; James Lay, Lam, Alaalatoa (c), Vui, McFarland, Agaese Seu, Lee, Luatua.
Replacements: Malolo, Jordan Lay, Alo-Emile, Slade, Taufua, Enari, Sopoaga, Fidow.
Chile: Ayarza, Videla, D Saavedra, Garafulic, Larenas, Fernández, Torrealba, Martínez, C Saavedra, Sigren (c), Pedrero, Huete, Dittus, Dussaillant.
Replacements: D Escobar, Lues, Inostroza, Eissmann, A Escobar, Silva, Videla, Casas.
Preamble
Samoa have had to wait patiently to join the World Cup party, but could prove to be one of the tournament’s most intriguing sides. Boosted by changes to World Rugby’s eligibility rules, they arrive in France with former Australia and New Zealand internationals in their ranks, and hopes of making a first quarter-final appearance since 1995.
They kick off their campaign against Chile, this World Cup’s only debutants. The underdogs in an otherwise closely matched pool, the South Americans are built differently, with almost every player based at Santiago club side Selknam, founded just four years ago. Well beaten by Japan in their opener, Los Cóndores are still capable of causing a shock – they beat mainstays Canada and the USA in thrilling qualifiers to get here.
Another big weekend of rugby kicks off in Bordeaux at 2pm (BST), so stick around.
Updated
