This may not look like much but it is actually one of the most remarkable crowds I have ever seen.
🇨🇱 Chile got what looks maybe around 1000 fans to sit in the grandstand with no roof to watch an U20 game vs Hong Kong in the pouring rain!
No other Tier 2 nation would get remotely close to this crowd for an equivalent fixture even in sunny weather.
The way the Chilean public has embraced their team in the Lemoine era especially post-2023 has been incredible. Remember they got 15,972 for Romania and 12,872 in July for games with Romania and Hong Kong and sold out a 23,423 stadium vs Samoa last year. They also according to a report been "buying tickets in their droves" for their RWC 2027 games. If they can get that many fans to come and watch in the pouring rain a very low profile U20 game that report now does not surprise so much.
Clearly Chileans have been desperate for another national sports team to get behind. Hopefully rugby doesn't waste this opportunity to grow in this country and in years down the line this committed new wave of recent support is passed down and maintained for generations.