Rugby union in Chile

Rugby union is a moderatelly popular sport in Chile. It was introduced by the British in the 19 th century. It's believed that the first people who played it in Chile were the English who worked at the saltmines in Iquique. Rugby was also developed by the English private colleges. During many years it was a sport mostly practised by the upper classes in Chile. The first teams appeared in Valparaíso and Santiago de Chile, who latter formed the Unión de Rugby de Chile. The British influence can be noticed by the fact that several of the main Chilean teams have English names.

The Federación de Rugby de Chile was founded in 4 May 1953. Their statues and regulations were officialized at 16 December 1963. It's affiliated at the Olympic Committee of Chile and at the Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby, the FIRA and the IRB.

Chile National Rugby Championship started in 1948, and it's first winner was Prince of Wales Country Club.

The Chile national rugby union team, known as "Los Condores" ("The Condors") it's the 24 th in the FIRA world ranking, and it's the third best team from South America, after Argentina and Uruguay.