Chile and Martín Sigren begin to dream of making Rugby World Cup history

In the crisp Andean sunshine, Chile’s Super Rugby Americas franchise Selknam are wrapping up a training session. In the middle of the group, Martín Sigren offers a few final words before the players disperse. It is impossible to make out what he is saying, but it is clear that every member of the group is hanging on his every word. After missing nearly a year of action due to a serious knee injury, Chile’s captain is back in his element. 

Having led Los Condores to their maiden World Cup in 2023, he had to watch last year’s qualification for the 2027 tournament from the sideline. With a decade of international rugby behind him, his time away from the pitch has given him a chance to reflect on how much has changed since his debut in 2016.

“The national team was treated like an amateur club. We would train twice a week, for a couple of months before a tournament. We did all the gym and nutrition stuff by ourselves. On top of that you’d be studying and working and doing everything normal people do.”

As he is talking, a member of staff hands him a bottle of water, while a team of physios and strength and conditioning coaches gather nearby to discuss the afternoon schedule. The state-of-the-art gym and high-quality training pitches are a far cry from the rudimentary facilities Sigren remembers from his early days, when professionalism was still a distant dream. Today, Chilean youngsters can watch their heroes earn a living from rugby thanks to the success of Sigren and his generation.

“I’m the fourth of five brothers and my dad also played rugby so he pretty much raised us as his little rugby team. Some of my best memories are Sundays at the club, playing my games and then staying to watch all my brothers play and then watch the first division team play as well.”

Sigren believes one of his brothers may have been able to carve out a career in the sport, but he acknowledges that they all had other interests.

“My dad loved taking us to the beach and surfing and skateboarding and doing all these extreme sports. He’s a real adrenaline junkie and so are my brothers.”

When I asked if that meant Sigren doesn’t regard himself as an adrenaline junkie, he flashes a mischievous smile and responds:

“No, no, I play rugby.”

His response speaks volumes about the way Sigren plays the game; the powerful backrower is one of his country’s most abrasive players. His brothers might prefer the more eye-catching sports, but Sigren is the first person to put himself in harm’s way on the pitch and he has the scars to prove it. The latest of which, a pale line that runs up his left knee, is a reminder of the injury that kept him off the pitch for 12 months. For someone who loves the confrontational side of the game as much as Sigren, this period was hugely frustrating, but he has put it to good use. 

“Last year was a bit different because of my injury, which gave me a lot of time to do other things. I actually travelled all over Chile, from Arica to Punta Arenas, doing free social clinics, and taking rugby to different regions to keep on growing the sport. I know the impact rugby can have on our society.”

Sigren’s exhaustive travel schedule has been part of the reason for the remarkable growth in the sport, inspired by Chile’s recent success on the field. Their 2025 victory over Samoa in Viña del Mar was attended by over 20,000 fans, and they set a record attendance of over 25,000 against Scotland in 2024.

Just a few days before our interview, Sigren met with Chile’s new president in another sign that the sport is occupying a far greater part of the national consciousness than ever before. Sigren acknowledges that such ambassadorial duties come with the territory, but is clear that he hasn’t lost sight of what matters most. 

“I’m really aware that for me to be able to be the best version of Martín the ambassador, I have to be the best version of Martín on the field.”

Having recently made his return to the field with Selknam, Sigren won’t have to wait long for his next major international test. In July, Chile host Romania, Hong Kong, and Georgia in the inaugural Nations Cup, before heading to Europe to conclude the competition in November. Having missed the already-iconic win over Samoa last year, Sigren is desperate to ensure the upcoming matches are successes on and off the field. 

“I think we have a team that is able to go out and win some games, if not every game. I’m ambitious to win every game. I’m looking forward to the games here, because of how we attracted the crowd. Lots of Chilean people are now interested in what we can do.”

Chile are currently five places behind Georgia in the World Rankings and will be eyeing a scalp, while their game against Hong Kong also offers them the chance to lay down a marker against one of the 2027 pool opponents. Sigren is already looking forward to the November tests against the likes of Spain and Portugal, both of whom narrowly defeated Chile in 2019.

“We were able to play them at the start of our process in 2019 and we lost, but we were in diapers back then. Lots have changed. Now, being able to face them again after almost six years, seven years: it’ll be interesting.”

He places a great deal of emphasis on the last word, as if it wasn’t already clear how long he has been waiting to get his revenge for those defeats. In 2019, Chile had never qualified for a World Cup, had no professional players, and Uruguayan head coach Pablo Lemoine was still settling in to the role.

Seven years on, they are preparing for a second World Cup, they have a professional franchise with 50 players under contract, and Chile’s Congress is currently considering a proposal to grant Lemoine honorary citizenship. Sigren could be forgiven for having to pinch himself from time to time, just to make sure this isn’t all a dream.  

The Nations Cup will provide vital opportunities for Chile to measure themselves against sides ranked above and below them. Come the end of 2026, the rugby public should have a much clearer sense of which of these lower-ranked teams look most likely to spring a surprise at the 2027 World Cup. 

Chile have been drawn alongside New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong and will likely need a bonus point win over the latter if they are to qualify for the Round of 16. For a team that has never won a World Cup match, the fact that this is even a goal says something about this group of players, but Sigren is adamant they can make history yet again. 

“My dream for the World Cup is to reach the [Round of 16]. To do it, we’ll need to win against [Hong Kong] and maybe get a bonus against Australia. That’d be a dream come true.”

Prior to that, Sigren is looking to add a maiden Super Rugby Americas title with Selknam to his resume, and hopes to continue developing the sport at home. With rumours of a second Chilean franchise entering the competition from 2027, the sport’s trajectory continues to soar. 

Before our conversation closes out, I ask whether or not Sigren has given any thought to the prospect of featuring in the 2035 World Cup, which could be played in South America. He assures me that 2031 is the latest he can see himself playing, and reminds me that he will be 39 by the time the 2035 tournament potentially arrives in South America. 

“I’ll be in the stands, with a little tie and a nice jacket.”

There is plenty of rugby yet to be played before Sigren’s career is out, and it is far from certain that South America will win that World Cup bid. There is no way of knowing what new heights Chilean rugby might have hit in the years between now and then. But if the pieces fall into place, and a new generation of Chilean stars line up for a World Cup match on home soil, they will owe a great debt of thanks to the man in the suit, watching on from the stands.