Journey to the heart of the Condors

If four years ago a rugby fan had learned that today Chile would play a friendly match at the Santa Laura stadium against Scotland, as a prelude to a key qualification for a world XV, there would probably not be not believed.

Nor would he have imagined that a renowned coach like Pablo Lemoine would arrive, who, together with an enthusiastic federation and a few amateur-minded professional players, would put Chile on the world map. An equation in which the Uruguayan coach has always had a star role. That is why he is an authorized voice to talk about the most important weeks in the history of Chilean rugby, some that began with preparation in the north of the country and that today make them play against a team that is a legend in the discipline. .

The next July 9th , the Cóndores will have their most important confrontation, with the key first leg giving them a ticket to the World Cup against the United States. This Saturday, against Scotland, they will seek to win their aspirations. Lemoine tries not to focus only on this result. Phrases like “it’s a process ”, “the world cup is not the only important thing ”O”a complete plan will be repeated several times in the conversation he has with El Deportivo.

The Condors only returned to Santiago earlier this week. Despite the historic duel they will play today, the team’s eyes have always been on the United States.

The preparation started in Antofagasta a few weeks ago. There, the players concentrated after a few weeks off, having mostly played in the SLAR final. In the coastal town, they made game plans and reached out to the local community, which is very important to Lemoine. “Condors must represent all of rugby in Chile, not just Santiago “, repeat.

After the stay in Antofagasta, they traveled to Calama, where they sought to replicate the conditions they will face when they have to travel to the United States to close the series on July 16. The altitude of the northern city (2,200 meters) is very close to that of Denver (1,600). “We went to look for that, because in Colorado we will play at altitude, with a similar climate and with dry air like that of Calama “, he comments.

In the mining town, there have been weeks of calm, solely focused on rugby, something very contrary to the past seven days, where the days of Lemoine and his leaders have passed between press conferences, ceremonies and events. commercial, including the presentation of the new jersey. sponsored by Peugeot, before the duel against Scotland.

“It’s very physical rugby, they have great power, with very tall and strong players. We are preparing for this type of rugby and we face a team that breaks the line of defense, which uses the maul to hurt us where we can have a deficit, which is significant », Analyzes Lemoine when asked about the United States, the rival that separates him from France 2023.

The North American is a tough team with stripes, who knows how to get to the planetary event almost systematically. Only he was not present in South Africa 1995. Of course, he was never able to overcome the first round. That’s why defeating him is not unreasonable, but it requires certain conditions. Lemoine explains them:We have to work hard on our discipline, avoid taking penalties, know how to work together, know how to work with the opponent and, using our strength, achieve the goal. We have to do it as a team, not with individuals ”.

Beyond the excitement that exists, the head coach does not lose his calm. “The opportunities are never unique, we have a lot of confidence in the process and the president of the federation told us that it was a long-term project to build rugby in Chile, to give it a change for the generations to come. We work in youth, women’s rugby, regional high performance centers and development. If it was just about qualifying for the World Cup, we wouldn’t be doing this ”.

One of the phrases that Pablo Lemoine repeated the most when he arrived in the country in 2018 was that Chile was the sleeping giant of South America. Four years later, and with several milestones to its credit, the phrase takes on another nuance. “He wakes up. I have the impression that the team manages to federate all Chilean rugby. There are more and more people following the national team, there are more and more people getting involved in rugby and there are more and more people who want to be part of the Chilean Federation. There was a time when rugby was centralized and it did him no good. Now, instead, we are revitalizing the poles of Chile and with this we will achieve a much bigger, federal and ambitious Chilean rugby. ”.

This motivates him and fills him with pride. This is one of his big goals, much deeper and more precious than playing a World Cup, he says. “I’m happy with what I’ve done, what I’m doing and what the people who work with me are doing “, He insists.

Lemoine also admits that for the plan and rugby to improve, you need to have a stadium. “This is one of the things that affects the federation the most, where it has more expenses annually. It generates shows in places that are not in line with the games being played. Because we have a stadium for good quality television, we end up playing in stadiums with 25,000 people. Let’s hope that the legacy of Santiago 2023 will accompany us. I know that they are in discussion with the minister, with the president of the Olympic Committee to try to build a stadium in the CAR de La Reina. A pole like a stadium develops everything around it “, he values.

“I can’t wait for this to become a reality. I think Santiago 2023 will recognize the work of rugby, which is great work at all social levels. It will help us a lot to have our home, the Condor’s Nest as it was called long ago. “, he concludes.