Enrique Pichot, coach of the XV of Argentina: “The recipe for Chile to progress in rugby is in children and young people”

Enrique Pichot (April 20, 1972) comes from a family linked to rugby. His brother Agustín carries the sport in his blood and is one of the great Argentine legends of all time. despite the fact that they were able to devote themselves to football, but the family tradition weighed. “We play very well, Agustín is a Boca fan and I’m an Independiente fan like my father, but he, together with our grandfather and our uncle, instilled that in us” says the coach of the XV of Argentina, the Trans-Andean team that supports the Pumas in South American competitions, and that this Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m., will face the XV Condors in San Carlos de Apoquindo, in a duel that will be open to public (entrances, via the system TicketPlus ). Life, family and talent detection are some of the topics of this conversation with Jock.

How does the XV of Argentina come to this match against the Condors?

The boys had some big games over the weekend. Although we are getting a little cramped, it keeps them more alert and will make them less comfortable. At some point, it makes them more engaged and focused on what’s to come.

How do you see the Condors?

They have a highly qualified staff, which forces their team to comply with the corresponding processes to improve and rise to the occasion, and not only with Argentina XV, but also to be ready for games against teams from the north and challenge what they have. made to reach the top.

What is the Argentinian talent detection model and what does it have to do with the coaches?

We are a link. The most important work is done by the clubs. We believe that the inexhaustible source of players comes from the clubs. This makes it easier for us as coaches of the selected team to scout. The UAR put a lot of effort into player scouting and development many years ago. We take them very early: 16, 17 years old, we set up games in the unions to go see them play and begin to have a first contact with them; film them and follow them to have a backup and go get them, get to know them and then take them to the academies.

Does the geographical factor influence?

Totally. The Union invests massively in the academies. There are five academies spread across all regions of the country. These regions unite the provinces and we travel to see how the boys are doing. There are inter-academy matches or tryouts between clubs, which are organized by the academy officials, and that’s how you get to know the boys from an early age. To give you an example, this weekend we finished testing the 2003 litter.

In Chile, trainers will be certified from October. How does it work in Argentina?

It’s very well organized. There are different courses, levels. First of all, the Provincial Union and, if you want to go to a selection, the Argentine Union. So in this way you complete these courses to train, and if you feel like it and are dedicated to this sport, lead a team.

You are passionate about coaching. When did the insect sting you to practice?

What happens is that at the position where you play, you lead. As I’ve always been a scrum-half, I used to lead. I played from four to 34, and while I was playing, I started training in 2000. I could do it simultaneously: playing and coaching youth divisions. After this stage, my son was born, and for 10 years I trained him in kindergarten. Later I returned to the youth, I passed the top team and then the selected team of the province of Buenos Aires. Finally, I trained for two years when Jaguares started and later in the third year they offered me and Cochi Pellicena to join the youth team. It was a great joy that they took me on board and they have to be trained, because the boys learn as they are taught. It is important to have this knowledge or training to teach properly.

In its history rugby crosses everywhere. Your brother Agustín asks you to teach him everything you know…

We are very brothers. We grew up and learned in our family that the most important thing is to share, live and enjoy the moments. I always competed with Agustín inside my house, in ours, personally, because we were very close and we were together all day. We had a lot of fun competing in whatever, but I really liked that he did well. As long as I could help him as an older brother in any way, that was enough for me.

In the CASI, you were lowered to Intermediate so he could enter the first team.

I did not go down, he was better.

But sometimes you have to facilitate or accelerate certain opportunities

I was not going to compete on a court with my brother. I wasn’t going to, because I prioritized what I learned at home, which was my relationship with my brother. And if I knew he had a great opportunity and that he was better, there was nothing to force. The theme was very natural. I don’t see it as if I was moving, I see it as if it were growing and I was accompanying it. Let’s put it this way.

Is Agustín the best in the history of Argentinian rugby?

I’ll tell you this: I think the head and the vision that Agustín had for rugby, no one in Argentina had. One thing is to play and the other is to play and think for the rest of the people, and I believe that the capacity and the generosity that my brother had towards him and the rest of the world made him great. He didn’t think of himself, he thought of others, and with the strength he had in the game and in leadership, he took the sport to another level. It is to be generous.

Do you feel like you’ve paved the way?

The growth of the other depends a lot on one and on his accompaniment and help. That’s not all for me; it’s the only way to grow. Augustine did. He managed to push his way through and cut himself, but since he started in the national team and felt he was not what he seemed; that things couldn’t grow when it was his turn, he did everything he could to ensure that Argentinian rugby could grow in his strength, his knowledge and his game. The truth is that you have to be a leader and charismatic to meet the great challenge that Agustín has faced. Not everyone can do what he did. He stood in front of the International Rugby Board in Ireland aged 23 and told them “I don’t want to play Super Rugby, I want to play the Six Nations”. Then the rugby championship was set up. I saw him travel, I saw him meet the whole world, I saw the hours he spent in his life developing that and Argentine rugby could grow. I saw him fight in adversity, against all those who said it was not possible; that it was crazy and what was happening was not good, and today the format, with the generosity it has imposed, works on its own. Argentinian rugby grew thanks to a generous madman like my brother.

Why is the Argentinian coach so successful?

Because adversity suffers a lot. Suffering from so much adversity, in my opinion, you have to be creative. And with that creativity, a little organization and order, you get better processes as a result. And if you are consistent with these processes, you are more likely to succeed.

What dream do you have left to achieve as a coach?

I’m very happy with what I’m doing, I think I’m living a dream. I am not an ambitious person to go beyond what I have today. I enjoy today and now with what happens to me; with what I live, with the people I meet and with the opportunity I have. I really like what I do, I like it and that’s enough for me. If I can collaborate with someone who is below or with someone who is above, that’s fine with me.

What is Chile’s recipe for advancing and taking the plunge in rugby?

Chile’s recipe for progress in rugby is found in children and youngsters. It is there, in education. If you want to transform, you must transform bottom-up, not top-down. Because if you educate the boys well in the juniors and you teach them better in the juveniles, the work and the task of the coach in the top team or in the seniors is easier than creating new players at a higher level. It’s more complex.