Women fight for their place in Chile’s rugby revolution

The rise of the discipline in the country has sparked big plans for a branch that had been forgotten in recent times. Leaders, clubs and associations work to promote and improve the tools so that women are more and more interested in this sport.

In a year 2022 where national rugby has experienced historic moments for its development and massification in the country, one area has not yet managed to explode. In fact, he is just trying to take his first steps and is going through a process of rebirth after years of inactivity. It is women’s rugby, a forgotten category, but which according to experts has enormous potential. Today, both the Chilean Federation and the National Association and some private clubs are trying to open this way.

Being a rugby player in Chile is not easy for a woman. The competition is almost nil, there are no great supporters and despite the fact that there is a selection of seven, a match of the XV has never been played at international level. Changing this reality is a necessity.

“Women’s rugby is the area that has the greatest potential for growth today, because at minor level it is not yet consolidated. Last year we organized the first tournament for minors at national level and this year we already want to introduce it in all the workshops and school rugby programs that we have signed with the Chilean Association of Municipalities”, admits Cristián Rudloff, president of the National Rugby Sports Federation. .

Young women who want to play rugby have had to adapt to this reality. This is the case of Francisca Fuentes who, at 15, is the oldest rugby player at Stade Français. The wing began practicing the sport in 2018 thanks to Fundación Try, Rugby y Vida, which organized a workshop at its school, Estrella de Chile, in Pudahuel. After two years there, the teachers of the program recommended that she try her luck at Avenida Sánchez Fontecilla, where she is the only woman in the U16 category, so she trains with the men’s branch.

“I felt a bit lost with the question of finding a women’s team that I could belong to, but I never felt differentiated here, they always made me part of the team. That’s why my dream is so that the Stade can once again have a women’s team, so that I don’t have to leave and can continue to play for this club which has welcomed me so well. Sometimes it bothers me, because I would like more girls to dare and give more importance to women’s rugby to be able to really form women’s teams.” Commentaries by Fouentes.

Along this path, Fernando Manieu has played a key role. The head coach of the youth categories of Stade Français has vigorously sought to improve the place of women in the Las Condes club and has a strong desire to reinstate a branch that in the past was predominant at the national level. “As a club, we line up to have female coaches in all the categories in which there are girls, which are the M6s where nine train; the M8, where there are six and in the M16, where we have Francisca, who would be the only player at national level who participated in the competition with the men. Unfortunately, there is no fierce and constant competition from women at the minor level,” explains the professional.

The M6 ​​and M8 categories of the Stade Français. PHOTO: MARIO TELLEZ

Manieu also supports Cristián Rudloff’s comment on the lack of female competition for minors and goes even further. “Today there are no training clubs for young girls and that is what we want to achieve. There are young players, 14 and 15 years old, who start their training path directly , but that’s not what we want to aim for. We want girls, just like men, to have a full process, training on equal terms with their same sex. This is one of the reasons for reopening the women’s branch in 2023,” he adds.

If the idea catches on, it could allow Francisca Fuentes to continue for a long time at the Stadium, a place that has made her home, although she has never shared with women. Of course, the Santiago Rugby Association allowed him a first approach: “The closest I have been to living with girls was at the beginning of this year, when they invited me to play for ARUSA , in a concentrate in which national youth teams came out. . That’s when I realized that there are a lot of girls playing rugby, but it’s about looking for them, ”he says.

Women’s rugby at adult level

Reality at the adult level also has meeting points. Despite the fact that there is competition and even a selection, which was playing one of the most prestigious Sevens tournaments, there is still a lot of room for improvement. This is assumed by the president of the National Federation of Rugby Sports, who wishes to specify that the women’s team is one of his main objectives. After the rise of the men’s team, both in Seven and XV, it’s the turn of the women. “Speaking of the area of ​​high competition, we work with the women’s program at the national level and in the regional teams, thanks to the four zone centers that we have. For the first time in history, the women’s team participated in the Challenger Series and we are very happy because the results, even if they did not leave us among the eight, were very positive. It made us realize that we have to do more physical work”, he comments on the tournament which was played in August in Santa Laura.

In the process, nothing is easy. The expansion and work of the women’s team of R7 requires money, infrastructure and competition, elements that have not yet been achieved. “Our biggest difficulty has been bringing the players together, because for the last two years we had teams from Arica to Punta Arenas representing the country. Obviously that makes us proud, because we are one of the few teams sports to have representatives all over Chile, but at the same time, it creates a great difficulty for us regarding the cost of preparing the selected ones, because transfers are expensive, mobilizations are expensive, this year we have received a lot of money , but the sums will always be lacking,” says Rudloff.

Current women’s rugby competition is made up of regional and team tournaments. ARUSA is one of the largest associations. “We have two annual tournaments, in which three teams compete in the seven-man format. These are the Chunchas, the Lions and the Munays, which allowed us to position ourselves well at the national level because during the last Associations Tournament Nationals we came in third place, which hadn’t happened for a long time. We are also in the process of moving to the XV, since the number of players has increased quite a bit, ”explains Jacqueline Vergara, director of ARUSA in charge of metropolitan women’s rugby.

Rudloff takes up the challenge and sets ambitious goals. “We are working so that in 2023 we will have the first international match of the XV, in addition to establishing a national tournament with the regional teams at the level of the XV, which will allow us to have greater identification of the players”, advances he.

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Source: Latercera

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