Chilean rugby lives the year of its consecration

The last year has been instrumental in the process of professionalizing rugby in our country, as the performances of the national teams have been remarkable: qualification for the World Sevens in France 2022 has been obtained, while at XV the semi-final has been reached in the American Rugby Super League (SLAR), in addition to beating Canada in a historic series and remaining in a two-game qualifying phase for the 2023 South Africa World Cup, an event Chile have never participated in.

In order to train discipline, the national team has set up a Staff first level technician under the command of the the head coach Pablo Lemone. While Selknam, a Chilean professional team that participates in SLAR and is made up mainly of the Cóndores, is training for the start of the championship, always thinking about the rest of the calendar and the next challenges. The preparation takes place from Monday to Saturday, between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and the physical, technical and tactical training takes place on the field, and they even have wrestling sessions at the Olympic Training Center.

During 2022, Chile will aim to consolidate a great team that will compete step by step with the best teams in the world. Así lo cuentan Francisco Urroz (28) y Esteban Inostroza (28), quienes se encuentrando la pretemporada con Selknam de cara a la SLAR de este año, pero con un ojo puesto en la serie clasificatoria ante Estados Unidos de julio y el Mundial Seven of September.

The 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from September 9-11, and will feature the top 24 teams in the world. Chile will participate for the second time in a row and look to improve on the result achieved in San Francisco, USA (2018), an event where the national team won the Bowl and placed 17th.

Urroz recounted his experience within the previous planetary event and discussed the goals that are proposed to deal with it “The main objective is to improve the previous note. I think it would be a good result and from there everything is very positive . It is very difficult to get into the top 16 teams because they are professional and play all year round. Chile is not on the World Tour, so they don’t have the same friction as those teams.

“My focus is one hundred percent here (Selknam), I want to have a good result, play the most minutes in the SLAR, have a good performance and be able to be at my best in July, I think that’s my goal. Once you have fulfilled this objective of being in the World Cup (France 2023) or of being well prepared and more determined, I would love to go to the World Sevens, if the opportunity arises. I’ve always really enjoyed playing Sevens, but now I am one hundred percent focused here and I want to take Chile to the XV World Cup added the doctor, who hopes to be part of the delegation that will travel to the African continent in the second half.

Urroz, who graduated as a doctor last yearjust returned to court after cutting his Achilles tendon in July . the back He had not been able to work as a doctor after graduating, but due to the complex disability he suffered from, he was able to return to his profession. “Once I was better, I started taking shifts. I worked a lot during the months of November, December and January, taking advantage of the international window in Russia and the fact that the program was stopped here. Now I’m only with shifts where I’m not so attached, I focus on rugby ”.

For its part, Inostroza suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in mid-January this year. The chef and gastronomic administrator by profession, told how he makes the training compatible with his work, and clarified that he must also make “patches” according to the “production they need in the company”, but always with rugby as a priority.

For others, Urroz emphasizes the importance of mental health and psychological work to deal with highly relevant events as a team. “We’ve worked on it in the past with a coach spirit that has given us many tools. Now we focus on teamwork, coming together as a group. We recently did an activity and got out of Santiago, there we got to know each other better. We did a job that isn’t done a lot because, of course, we see each other every day, but in the end we don’t share so much with the colleague next door, where we can find out more about his life, so by knowing each other better as a team we can release this anxiety that all athletes suffer from when they face important competitions ”. “The time spent together is vital in the face of what lies ahead “, completes Inostroza.

Thinking of the next challenges, the head of Maipú trusts in the capacity of the establishment. “I see the team strong enough. We are very convinced of what we are doing, I think it is a unique opportunity for this group and we are living it with enthusiasm. ”. In this sense, he also made his desire clear, thinking about the July qualifying series against the United States. “I have the concentration here (Selknam) and my goal is to earn my place in qualification ”.

Between September 8 and October 21, 2023, the XVth Rugby World Cup will take place in France. The third country from the continent that will accompany Argentina and Uruguay at the event remains to be seen, one that will be released in July in a series back and forth between the Cóndores and the United States.

“The match with the United States is going to be very difficult, they have very good players, with a lot of experience and who have already played several important instances, such as the qualifiers. Several are playing in Europe, but the match is 15 against 15. Uruguay beat them and we’re here with Uruguay, so It will be an equal match, life or death and whoever is more involved will take it. On paper they are the favourites, but we also did well and we are very hungry, and that can work in our favor. Urroz said.

“They eliminated Canada in historic fashion, Canada had never been kicked out of a World Cup and they eliminated them. Then they went to Russia to play on the road and won both games, I couldn’t be there because of the injury, but It tells you that there is important work being done, not only by the team, but also by the staff, and that should be reflected in the same way in this year’s Super League. added the Las Condes native, referring to the historic round before the game against the United States.

To successfully defeat the key against the United States, the Condors will advance to Group D of the World Cup, which includes England, Japan, Argentina and Samoa. All rivals with a long history, which reinforces the milestone of achieving a historic ranking.

If defeated, there is one last chance to qualify for the playoffs, where four teams from around the world will battle it out for the long-awaited final berth.

The SLAR, which will take place between March and May of this year in Valparaíso, Santiago, Asunción, Ciudad del Este and Montevideo; It consists of six franchises from different countries (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay).

Selknam has played a fundamental role in the process of professionalizing rugby in our country. Most national teams play as a team. Of the 55 athletes making the pre-season, 51 are nationals, and they are training for the start of SLAR, but also thinking about the long schedule national rugby will have this year.

“SLAR is a great opportunity, especially since most of the Chilean team is here , only a few foreigners join. In the United States they all play separately, even though they have very good players, they are not together, So there we have a point in our favor that our coaches constantly let us know commented Urroz.

“I see that the team is doing well, very well. Last year we managed to be in the semi-finals and we lost the semi-final with Peñarol, in Uruguay. They were local and it worked really well for them. It was a very close match, it was for anyone. Last year the team had a very good second half following that first start of the year, which was SLAR 2021. The team is much more mature, much more experienced, there is also new faces that contribute a lot to the team and I think the expectations for this year are high. I want to be in that final and win it, I wouldn’t just be in the semis and stay there again, I want to be in the final and fight. I think we are here for important things, the team showed that last year.” he added.

We, in our values, want to leave a legacy and transcend. We don’t just want to be the best team in the history of Chile, but we want to pass that on to future generations and for rugby to be better and better in Chile. “, Condemned Pancho, who is also the second captain of Selknam.

The first and second dates of the tournament will be played on March 13 and 19 at the Elías Figueroa stadium in Valparaíso, while the third day will take place on March 19 in San Carlos de Apoquindo. These meetings will mark the start of a crucial year for rugby in Chile, which will close its participation in the South American Games (ODESUR) in October, an event that will also serve as preparation for Santiago 2023.